Week of 10/2

Odds and Ends: 

We had a great time celebrating Johnny Appleseed's birthday! Thanks for bringing apples in to share- the applesauce was delicious! 

Pictures: Lifetouch will be at Prairieview on Tuesday, October 3rd  for retakes. If you would like your child's picture retaken, please return the original picture package with your child on or before Oct 3rd (retake day). Lifetouch will re-photograph free of charge and provide you with new pictures in a few weeks. Students who were absent on the original picture day should have received an order form to have their picture taken Tues. 10/3. Questions? Please call the office at 630-783-5100.

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 10/2: New spelling word sorts handed out: Test and Activities: Fri. 10/13
Reading: September Calendar Due

*Wed. 10/4: Social Studies: Hemispheres Quiz

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue our study of folktales as we explore theme using fables. A new reading calendar for October was sent home. That is due anytime before 10/31.

We are continuing to edit and revise our personal narratives. We are learning how to have great hooks (starting sentences), use dialogue, and having fabulous zingers (ending sentences).

*Spelling: Students will receive list #3. All 3 activities and the test will be on Fri. 10/13.

*Social Sciences: We are continuing to learn about the globe as we study hemispheres. The quiz will be on Wed. 10/4. A study guide was sent home. You can also look at the worksheets stored in their Social Studies folder to help them prepare.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:  We will begin Unit 2 an introduction to multiplication. We will work on strategies to solve and multiplication facts. We are also working on fact fluency for addition and subtraction. Every day we will be practicing our fast facts. Starting next week Friday, the addition fast fact will be taken for a grade Following addition will be subtraction facts and then we will begin multiplication facts. A note will be sent home explaining the fast facts. Thanks!

Have a great weekend, 
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 9/25

Odds and Ends:

Happy Birthday, Johnny Appleseed! We will be celebrating Johnny Appleseed's birthday on Tuesday, September 26th.  Please have your child bring in a peeled, cored apple cut into slices or chunks to be used to make our own homemade applesauce in class that day. I will provide the rest of the necessary ingredients. Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Tues. 9/26: Johnny Appleseed's Birthday

*Wed. 9/27: Early Dismissal
ELA: Quotation Mark Graded Review

* Friday 9/29: Scholastic Book Order for Sept. Due
Spelling: Word List 2: Test and 3 activities due 
Math: Unit 1 Test 


A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue our study of folktales and we explore fables. We will focus on context clues to decode difficult words, character traits, and story elements in our small groups. We will also celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday on Tuesday!

*English: We are learning about quotation marks and capitalization rules. We are learning how to use these in our personal narratives. We will continue to write and revise our personal narratives.

*Spelling: We will continue to work on our word list 2 this week. The test and 3 activities are due 9/29. Please check in with your child to see how many activities they have finished already.

*Science:  We haven't started our science unit yet.

*Social Studies: We continue our study of maps and the world with our next unit on hemispheres. We will focus on the poles, equator, prime meridian, and hemispheres.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We are working on word problems with addition and subtraction. Student's have learned how to use PAL (showing their problem (equation), answer, and label). A practice test was sent home today and is due on Tues. 9/26. We will have our Unit 1 test on Friday. 9/29. The practice test also acts as their study guide. 

Have a great weekend enjoying this warm SUMMER like weather!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/18

Hello Families of 3rd Graders,

We had a wonderful week together learning and exploring new topics and technology. Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend together! I will be celebrating my daughter's 2nd birthday! (pictured here is the birthday girl!)

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

Mon. 9/18: New Spelling Word Sorts Sent Home

Wed. 9/20: Social Studies: Continent and Ocean identification Quiz

Fri. 9/29: Spelling: Test and 3 Activities due

A LOOK AHEAD: 

*Reading and Language Arts: We will continue our study of Folktales with close reading of complex text. We will focus on getting the big "gist" or main idea of a complex text and then read it more than once to look for character traits and various story elements.

We will continue our narrative writing with writing "true" stories and learning about story starters, endings, using dialogue, and details to make our writing come alive.

*Spelling: We are beginning a new word sort for the next 2 weeks. A spelling menu will be given to the students on Monday as well and time will be set aside in class to complete 3 activities (one from each column of the menu) in the 2 week block. Please check in periodically with your child to see how they are progressing on their assignments. They should be using See Saw or Google Docs to complete their assignments. I sign their menu when I approve the See Saw post, indicating what assignments are completed.  The test will be on Fri. 9/29.

*Science: We have not started science yet but we did start talking about the steps to the scientific method. Pictured here are the students testing out their hypothesis, learning the difference between a guess and a prediction, and following the steps to an experiment. 

*Social Studies:  We are working on learning about location of the continents and oceans. We are also working on researching WOW facts about a continent or ocean (ask your child which one they got) and making Google Slides about our facts to present to the class. We will take our quiz on identifying continents and oceans on Wed. 9/20. The students will need to know the location of all of the continents and oceans, but we will have a word bank for spelling. 


*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We will continue to work on addition and subtraction strategies, focusing on strategies the students can use with mental math and to make difficult problems more manageable. Below are pictures of the students doing a length scavenger hunt around the classroom. We later used these numbers to work on problem solving and addition strategies.  

Have a GREAT weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/11-9/15

Hello Families of 3rd Graders,

Fall is in the air! Enjoy the weekend together!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Mon. 9/11: Magazine Drive Kick off Assembly

Thurs. 9/14: Band Concert

Fri. 9/15: Spelling Test and word activities due

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading and Language Arts: We will begin our unit on Folktales this week in our first Unit, Tales as Old as Time.  We will also continue working on our Daily 5 stations.

We will begin our writing unit on Narrative writing. Your child will be bringing home a composition notebook on Tuesday to decorate with personal pictures or pictures from the internet showing things they love. This will provide the students with ideas of what to write about!

*Spelling: We will continue to work on the first word sort. An activity menu was given to students this week. We will work on the activities in class, but depending on their time management in class, some of the assignments will need to be completed at home. 

We are using See Saw and Google Docs to complete and turn in the activities. You should have received an email to view your student's work on See Saw. 

The test will be on Fri. 9/15. 

*Science: We are not starting science yet.

*Social Studies: We will begin our study of continents and oceans this week.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We will work on length with a fun classroom scavenger hunt. There will be a short check point on addition and subtraction on Monday, 9/11. 

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/4

Hello Families of third graders!

Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone! Thank you to all of the parents who came out to Curriculum Night! If you were unable to attend or would like to revisit our slide presentation, please email me and I will send home a paper copy with your child. There seems to be a technical "glitch" sharing the link on our blogs, but I would be happy to get you a copy if you weren't here or just need to revisit what I shared with you all. 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 9/3: No School: Happy Labor Day!

*Thurs. 9/7: Social Studies: Directions/Compass Quiz

*Fri. 9/15: Spelling Test #1

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Spelling: On Tuesday, your child will be bringing home a word sort. We will do various activities at school with these words. Your child may continue these activities at home with their spelling menu if work is not completed in class. The activities and test are due on Friday, Sept. 15th.

*Reading and Language Arts: We will continue focusing on various reading skills using fun literature. We will work on various strategies as we use these texts to model our thinking and learning. We will work on our Daily 5 stations.

A September reading calendar was sent home Thursday of this week. Please initial the box when your child reads 20 minutes a night. The calendar will be due for a grade on Oct. 2nd. A new calendar is sent home every month.

*Social Studies: We are learning about the compass and directions. A study guide was sent home today for the quiz on these topics on Thurs. 9/7.

*Science: We are not starting science yet.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: Welcome to the math section of my blog. If you were unable to attend Curriculum Night and need a handout on Bridges math, please let me know and I will send one home with your child. We'll be focusing on addition and subtraction tables this week. There is no homework this weekend.

Enjoy the long weekend! Mrs. Olsen

Week of 8/28

Hello Families of 3rd graders!

We had an awesome first week together! We had a great week getting to know each other and I look forward to a fabulous year together. Families- please make sure you check my blog at the end of each week. I will send out a weekly email on Friday with a link to make this convenient, but this is a great place to check out what we are learning each week and upcoming events and important dates, including tests. 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 8/28: Summer t-shirt activity due today  (check your child's binder for this activity)

Spelling: Words their Way Pre-test

*Tues. 8/29: MAPS Math test

*Wed. 8/30: Curriculum Night: 6:30-8 pm. Parents only, please. 

*Thurs. 8/31: MAPS Reading Test

Common Assessment A in ELA (Reading and Language Arts class) 

*Fri. 9/1: Fountas and Pinnell Reading Inventory 

A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD: 

*Spelling: We are continuing the spelling series Word Your Way. Fortunately, the students worked with this program in 2nd grade. We will be taking an inventory on Monday and the students will be working with patterns they struggle with during Word Work in Daily 5.  We will officially start after Labor Day weekend. 

*Reading and Language Arts (ELA): We will be starting our year focusing on various reading skills using fun literature. This week our books will help us focus on character traits, cause and effect, and theme.  On Thursday, your child will be bringing home a September reading log. I expect my students to ready for 20 days a month, 20 minutes a night. I know many read much more than that, but that log will be part of their grade. 

*Social Studies: We will be learning about directions this week and making our very own compass rose. 

*Science: We won't be starting science yet as we focus on Social Studies. 

*Mrs.Olsen's Math Class: I can't wait to meet my math students. We will start math on Monday. We will be taking a pretest later this week to find out what they know!

IMPORTANT DATES: 

9/5: Labor Day (no school)

9/27: Early Dismissal 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 5/30/16 - 6/3/16

Happy Memorial Day! It's the final week of 3rd Grade.
No school on Monday.

Tuesday we go bowling at Brunswick Bowl. All students must wear gym shoes and socks to bowl. If your child plans to buy snacks, please make sure he/she brings money; no phone calls will be made to parents to bring their money to school. $5.00 is more than enough!!

Chromebooks, cases with straps, and charger cords will be checked and collected on Tuesday, May 31.

Reminder that all IMC school library books need to be returned. They were due 2 weeks ago.

Please consider recycling your child's unused school supplies from this year. We will be collecting supplies now through the last day of school. Prairieview's PBIS will donate them to the SCARCE organization, passing them along to students and schools who need them.

Some fun days ahead as we celebrate "4 Days 'til 4th Grade"!
Tuesday: Crazy Socks Day
Wednesday: Crazy Hair Day
Thursday: Sunglasses & Hat Day
Friday: Fancy Pen/Marker Day

COMING UP:

Spelling:  We are done!

Reading & Language Arts:  We're finishing up our Narrative writing pieces (creating a prequel or sequel to The One and Only Ivan). We're also finishing our Argumentative organizers on the topic of Animals in Captivity (why it's a good thing to keep wild animals in the zoo vs. why it's a bad thing to keep wild animals in the zoo).

Keep Reading for 20 minutes daily! May Reading Logs are due Wednesday, June 1st.

Social Science:  We're finishing Chapter 4, Lesson 3 "How Living Things Survive in Ecosystems". We take the open-book quiz on Tuesday, 5/31. We will also do some hands-on exploration with animal pelts and skulls to see which traits help them survive in their ecosystem. Thanks to Eli's mom and The Morton Arboretum for suppling the materials!!!

Mrs. Lopez & Mrs. Forsman's Math Class:   

We completed the Bridge Design & Construction unit. Our students got to use what they learned and created their own bridge designs based off of Beam, Arch, and Suspension Bridges. It was a lot of fun!

IMPORTANT DATES:

5/30 - No School (Memorial Day holiday)

5/31 - 3rd Grade Bowling Field Trip & Chromebook collection

6/1 - May Reading Logs are due

6/2 - Field Day & Talent Show

6/3 - Last Day of School (1/2 day of school dismiss at 11:35am)

Have a wonderful long weekend!
- Mrs. Lopez

Week of 5/23/16 - 5/27/16

We're coming up on our last full week of school. How time flies!!! Summer is just around the corner.

Chromebooks, cases, and charger cords will be checked and collected on Tuesday, May 31.

Reminder that all IMC school library books need to be returned. They were due last week.

COMING UP:

Spelling:  The Homework Menu (6 activities) and Test are due/will be on Wednesday, 5/25/16.

Reading & Language Arts:  We’ll read Night of the Pufflings and working on our final writing piece - argumentative. In stations, students read stories on Raz-Kids and build comprehension. We got our Pen Pals letters from Mrs. Walega's 2nd Grade Class. We can't wait for them to visit us at Prairieview on 5/27/16.

We look forward to hearing from Diamond this week about her visit with Ivan. : )

Keep Reading for 20 minutes daily! May Reading Logs are due Wednesday, June 1st.

Social Science:  We continue with Chapter 4, Lesson 3 "How Living Things Survive in Ecosystems". The open-book quiz will be the following week on Tuesday, 5/31.

Mrs. Lopez & Mrs. Forsman's Math Class:   

We continue with Unit 8: Bridge Design & Construction using data collection and analysis.
This month, students will be researching, designing and constructing model bridges: Arch and Suspension Bridges.

  

IMPORTANT DATES:

5/27 - 2nd Graders visit
5/30 - No School (Memorial Day holiday)
5/31 - 3rd Grade Bowling Field Trip & Chromebook collection
6/2 - Field Day
6/3 - Last Day of School (1/2 day of school)

Have a wonderful weekend!
- Mrs. Lopez

Week of 5/16/16 - 5/20/16

Field Trip to the Shedd Aquarium: We had a had a wonderful time on our field trip. Thank you so much to Elijah's family and Diamond's mom for helping with the trip!!!

COMING UP:

Spelling:  The new spelling list will come home on Monday. Homework Menu (6 activities) and Test are due/will be on Wednesday, 5/25/16.

Reading & Language Arts:  Students are working on a Character Poster in class from The One and Only Ivan. Each chooses a character from the story, creates a word cloud describing the character, and supports their findings with excerpts from the text. We’ll start reading Night of the Pufflings and working on our final writing piece - argumentative. In stations, students read stories on Raz-Kids and build comprehension.

Our friendly letters to our 2nd Grade Pen Pals were delivered last week. Our Pen Pals are from Mrs. Walega's 2nd Grade Class over at Ide. We can't wait for them to visit us at Prairieview on 5/27/16. We look forward to getting letters back from them soon.

We look forward to hearing from Jokubas this week about his visit with Ivan. : )

Keep Reading for 20 minutes daily!

Social Science:  We continue with Chapter 4, Lesson 2 Ecosystems on Monday. We have started building an animal's ecosystem with the rock and shoebox your child brought in. This topic ties in with our field trip to the Shedd Aquarium.

Mrs. Lopez & Mrs. Forsman's Math Class:   

We continue with Unit 8: Bridge Design & Construction using data collection and analysis.
This month, students will be researching, designing and constructing model bridges. Students designed, constructed, and tested Beam Bridges.

 
  


We're reaching out to families for material donations. We are in need of:

• paper towel tubes
• toilet paper tubes
• straws
• foil
• newspapers
• manila file folders
• fishing line
• cotton string
• copper wire
• rubber bands
• marshmallows
• masking tape
• paper clips
• twist ties (like from the grocery store, produce section)

Please email me at hlopez@ccsd66.org if you can donate any items. Thank you!!!

IMPORTANT DATES:

5/27 - 2nd Graders visit
5/30 - No School (Memorial Day holiday)
5/31 - 3rd Grade Bowling Field Trip
6/2 - Field Day
6/3 - Last Day of School (1/2 day of school)

Have a wonderful weekend!
- Mrs. Lopez

Week of 5/9/16 - 5/13/16

Field Trip to the Shedd Aquarium: Our field trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is this Thursday (5/12/16). Please make sure your child brings a sack lunch including a beverage (all completely throw-away) on Thursday.

COMING UP:

Spelling:  Homework Menu (6 activities) and Test are due/will be on Friday, 5/13.

Reading & Language Arts:  Students are working on a Character Poster in class from The One and Only Ivan. Each chooses a character from the story, creates a word cloud describing the character, and supports their findings with excerpts from the text. In stations, students read stories on Raz-Kids and build comprehension.

For language, students continue to build their interactive iBinder with notes and a portfolio of their work samples. This week we learn when to use commas in their writing. We are writing friendly letters to our 2nd Grade Pen Pals this week. Our Pen Pals are from Mrs. Walega's 2nd Grade Class.

Thanks to Serenity for sharing her Ivan Journal experiences with us last week! We look forward to hearing from Jokubas this week about his visit with Ivan. : )

Keep Reading for 20 minutes daily!

Social Science:  We continue with Chapter 4, Lesson 2 Ecosystems on Monday. Your child should bring in a rock and a shoebox on Monday so that we can start building an animal's ecosystem project. This topic ties in with our field trip to the Shedd Aquarium.

Mrs. Lopez & Mrs. Forsman's Math Class:   

We continue with Unit 8: Bridge Design & Construction using data collection and analysis.
This month, students will be researching, designing and constructing model bridges. Partners started designing and constructing Beam Bridges. 

We're reaching out to families for material donations. We are in need of:

• paper towel tubes
• toilet paper tubes
• straws
• foil
• newspapers
• manila file folders
• fishing line
• cotton string
• copper wire
• rubber bands
• marshmallows
• masking tape
• paper clips
• twist ties (like from the grocery store, produce section)

Please email me at hlopez@ccsd66.org if you can donate any items. Thank you!!!

IMPORTANT DATES:

5/12 - 3rd Grade Field Trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
5/13 - Early Dismissal (PV @ 11:35am)
5/30 - No School (Memorial Day holiday)
5/31 - 3rd Grade Bowling Field Trip
6/3 - Last Day of School (1/2 day of school)

Happy Mother's Day & enjoy the beautiful weekend!
- Mrs. Lopez