Week of 2/25

Odds and Ends:

*ISATs: ISAT testing in 3rd grade will begin the week of 3/4. All tests will take place in the morning.  The schedule is as follows:

Tues. 3/5: Reading I
Wed. 3/6: Math I
Thurs. 3/7: Reading II
Fri. 3/8: Make ups
Mon. 3/11: Make ups
Tues. 3/12: Math II
Wed. 3/13: Reading III
Thurs. 3/14: Math III
Fri. 3/15: Make ups

*Cancer Smashers: We are kicking off a fundraiser on Mon. 2/25 called Cancer Smashers. This is a fun way to raise money for cancer research. Ask your child about this fundraiser after school on Mon. Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Tues. 2/26: Early Dismissal at 11:00

*Fri. 3/1: Reading: February Calendars Due
Spelling: List 17 test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to work on responding to text using the authors ideas and our own ideas. We will also revisit making inferences and asking think and thin questions while we read. We will practice finding the main idea and details as we summarize stories.

*English: We will be working on ch. 4 adjectives.

*Spelling: We will be back on our spelling lists. There will be a pretest on Monday. The homework will be due Thurs. The test will be on Friday. We are on list 17.

*Science: We are busy in ch. 14 learning about light and sound.  The test will be tentatively scheduled for Wed. 3/6.

*Social Studies: We will begin our unit on Chicago soon!

*Math: We are working on ch. 7 probability. This is a short unit. We will work on ch. 18 fractions next. I will combine both ch 7 and ch 18 for a test to be announced at a later date. We are also working on solving word problems and writing what we did and why for each step.

We will also begin our division facts unit in the upcoming week.  I will send home a packet of all of the facts. We will focus on a fact table a week. The students will practice in class and at home. There will be division homework assigned during the week, as well as the other lesson homework. The students will take a timed fact test every Friday. They are worth 10 points. If they need to retake the test, each retake will result in a point deduction from 10 points. The will be able to retake until Thurs of the next week. We will focus on the relationship between multiplication and division and fact families, so our multiplication fact practice and lessons created a strong foundation for learning our division facts.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 2/19

Odds and Ends:

*Thank you to the wonderful parents who made our Valentine's party so much fun! The students enjoyed all of the treats and games. Happy Valentine's Day to all!
Here's my little Valentine, Liam!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Mon. 2/18:  No School President's Day

*Wed. 2/19: Prefix/Suffix Graded Review
Math: Ch. 16 and ch. 22 Graded Review
Reading: Final non fiction power point presentations due

*Thurs. 2/21: Spring Picture Day

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We have been spending a lot of time in the computer lab learning all about powerpoint, as we turn our non fiction research into a final presentation. The presentation will be due on Wed. 2/20.

* English: We are finishing up our prefix/suffix unit. The graded review will be on Wed. 2/20. Please have your child study the packet and review sheet to help them prepare. They will need to know the meanings of the prefixes and suffixes in the packet, as well as identify prefix, suffix, and root word in a word.

* Spelling: We will take another week off from spelling lists as we work on prefix suffix.

*Social Studies: Next unit: Chicago!

*Science: We are working on ch 14 as we focus on heat, light, and sound.

*Math: We will be reviewing ch. 16 and ch. 22. The following concepts will be tested on: solid figures, faces/edges/vertices (corners) on solid figures, perimeter, area, and volume. The test will be on Wed. 2/20. Look for a study guide that was sent home Friday.
The next unit will be ch. 7 probability.

Have a great, long weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

We had a blast at the party!!! Thank you to all of the parents who helped or sent in food and drinks. We heart our class!

The delicious and beautiful heart and red themed snack! Yummy! 

Week of 2/11

Odds and Ends:

*Valentine's Day Party: Thanks to many of our helpful parents, we have a great party lined up for Thurs. 2/14. The party will begin at 1:30 and go until 2:20, when we get ready for dismissal. If your child chooses to pass out valentines, please have one for each student in the class. We have 25 students. To make distributing the valentines much easier, please have your child sign only their name and please  do not write the name of each of their classmates on the card. Thank you!

*Scholastic Book Order: If you would like to order any books, please have your order turned into the classroom or online by Fri. 2/15.

*Water.org Donation: I am so proud to say we collected and donated $100 to water.org. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this worthy cause. Now several people will have access to clean water for life thanks to our help!

*PBIS: PBIS is our positive behavior incentive system that we work on at school. We practice being safe, responsible, and respectful each and every day. Please visit our social work website created by Mrs. Amedeo for great tips about PBIS behavior!  Click here to check it out:
 http://amedeosocialstars.blogspot.com

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Tues. 2/12: Social Studies: Ch 3 Test
Dental Hygiene Presentation for Dental Hygiene Month

*Thurs. 2/14: Valentine's Day Party

*Fri. 2/15: Scholastic Book Order Due

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will be wrapping up our fiction guided reading group. We will continue reviewing non fiction text features and reading non fiction books as part of a research project. We will work in the computer lab as on creating a finished project to share with our class about our research.

*English: We will continue to focus on our prefix and suffix unit. Coming up soon...adjectives and expository/informative writing.

*Spelling: There will be no list this week as we focus on our prefix and suffix unit.

*Science: We will work on ch. 14: heat, light, and sound.

*Social Studies: The students did an outstanding job on their culture day projects! Thank you for all of the hard work at home to complete this activity! I remember doing the same activity when I was in grade school and one of my fondest memories is interviewing my grandpa and having him get down a box of dusty old photographs. He was so proud of telling me about his history and sharing memories through pictures. He told many stories my mom and aunts had never even heard! I hope this activity was a bonding experience that your child will cherish forever.  Our ch. 3 test will be on Tues. 2/12. A study guide was sent home this week.

*Math: We are moving right through geometry. We will work on ch. 16 and 22 together as we learn about solid figures, perimeter, area, and volume. It will be a combined test that is tentatively scheduled for the week of Feb. 19th. More information will be sent home as the date approaches.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Matter Matters

The students enjoyed our in class field trip as a scientist from High Touch High Tech visited our classroom and talked to us about matter. We had so much fun doing our experiments together!

Spelling Bee

The students enjoyed watching the grade level spelling bee on Monday, January 28th. We were so proud of our classroom spelling bee winners, Matei and Brendan. Way to go!

All of the 3rd grade spelling bee contestants. 

They picked number 1 and 2 and were the first 2 spellers in the bee. 

Anxiously awaiting the start of the spelling bee. 

Coming to America!

The students were able to experience what it was like to immigrate to America in the early 1900's with a fun, interactive activity during social studies.

Week of 2/4

Odds and Ends:

* Scholastic Book Order: Book orders are available for Jan and Feb. Please have orders in online or send a check to class by Fri. 2/15. Each book purchased helps earn points, which I can then use to order new books for our classroom. Thank you for helping build our classroom library!


UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 2/4: Abe Lincoln Assembly
English: Verbs Test (ch. 3)

*Tues. 2/5: District Spelling Bee

*Wed. 2/6: Math:  Ch. 15 Graded Checkpoint

*Thurs. 2/7: Culture Day Presentations
100th Day of School

*Fri. 2/8: Culture Day Presentations


A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to work in our guided reading groups. We are also working on researching non fiction topics that relate to our books. The students are also busy writing extended responses to questions about their guided reading books.

*English: We will finish up our unit on verbs with a test on Mon. 2/4. We will focus on expository writing and prefix/suffix for the upcoming week.

*Spelling: We will spend the next few weeks focusing on prefix/suffix/root word in place of a spelling unit.

*Social Studies: We will continue to study ch. 3 as we learn about immigration and culture. Your child should be working on their culture day presentation. I reviewed their ideas and they look awesome! We can't wait to learn more about each others' cultures. The presentations will be on Thurs. and Fri of next week. If your child is bringing in a food sample to share, please send a list of ingredients or recipe used. Also, you can send the food in that morning. I can keep the food cold, but if your food needs to be warm, please plan on dropping it off in the office at school by 11:45 on the day of your child's presentation. We will be presenting both days starting after lunch at 11:45. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

*Science: We will begin our unit on ch. 14.

*Math: We are studying ch. 15: exploring shapes and solid figures. We will discuss congruent and similar shapes, slides, flips, and turns, among other geometry topics. This is a very short chapter. We will take a graded checkpoint on Wed. 2/6.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen