Week of 3/16

Odds and Ends: 

* If you have any extra tissue boxes, please consider sending one in with your child. We are all out! Thanks! 

*As many of you already know, we sadly had to cancel our upcoming field trip to the Chicago History Museum. We will keep you posted if we are able to reschedule at a later date. 

* IAR Testing:
We will have the following schedule for IAR testing. We will have our testing block from 10:15-11:45 am .

Tues. 3/24: Reading 1

Thurs. 3/26: Math 1

Tues. 4/7: Reading 2

Thurs. 4/9: Math 2

Tues. 4/14: Reading 3

Thurs. 4/16: Math 3

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Fri. 3/20: Prefix and Suffix Test

Math: 10's division timed test 

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading:   We will work on reading non fiction text as we learn about Chicago. We will use the features we learned about to help answer comprehension questions. We are also working on finding evidence to help answer our questions. Students are expected to TQA (turn the question around) and use CS (complete sentences). 

* Spelling: We will wrap up our unit on prefixes and suffixes this week. We will take a graded test on Friday. The packet is a great way to study for the test. We will not start a new list until after spring break. 

* Social Studies: WOW! The students culture day presentations were incredible! We loved learning about each other and everyone was so informative and well done! This is one of the highlights of 3rd grade! Next, we will continue our study of Chicago. 

*Science: We are continuing to study inheritance and traits. Ask your child about why some flamingos are pink and some are not. These science lessons tied in very well with their  culture reports! 
*Mrs.Olsen's Math Class: We will begin unit 6: geometry. We will work on 10's division facts with a test on Fri. 3/20.  Looking ahead, we will do 5, 11,  3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and finish with 12's. 

Happy St. Patty's Day! It's my very own leprechaun's 6th birthday, my son Declan,  on St. Patrick's day so we have a lot of celebrating to do! 

Best, 
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 3/9

Odds and Ends: 

Chicago History Museum Field Trip: We are looking forward to visiting this museum as an extension of our Chicago unit. Please send in a permission slip by Mon. 3/16. Thanks!

*We will welcome our student teacher, Miss Ceranac, full time starting Mon. 3/9. She has been in our room several times since January, observing our classroom and teaching a few lessons. Starting next week, she will be in our classroom every day, teaching and learning until the end of the school year. We are so lucky to have her! 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Tues. 3/10: Culture Day Presentations Begin 

*Wed. 3//11: Culture Day Presentations 
*Thurs. 3/12: Early Dismissal 
Culture Day Presentations
*Fri. 3/13: Jr. Achievement #5 
Math: 2's division fast fact test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We are applying what we know about non fiction text features and structures to our study of Chicago. We will be taking some graded reviews about both non fiction text features and structures. 

* Spelling: Our focus for word work for the the first weeks of March is prefixes and suffixes, rather than the words their way spelling words.  We will be working on this every day in class and take a graded review on Wed. 3/18. 

* Science: We are getting towards the end of our traits and inheritance unit. We will find out why Wolf 44 looks different than the other wolves in the pack. 

*Social Studies: Chicago...my kind of town! We will begin our unit on Chicago and will be focusing on early Chicago (way back to the ice age) and how the area began to change and develop into a community. 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We will begin Unit 6:  a study of geometry. We will begin with looking at quadrilaterals. We will also begin 2's division fast facts, with a test on Fri.3/13. 

Have a great weekend! Warmer weather? Yes... Please!

Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 3/6

Odds and Ends: 

Culture Day Presentations are coming up! We are working on typing our country reports. Your child might need to work on this over the weekend. We will spend all week typing our reports.  We talked again about culture presentations this week and the children received a purple note with details and the date of their presentation (either Tues. 3/10, Wed. 3/11, Thurs. 3/12). 

Here is what your child is expected to do on the date of their presentation 

1. Read 3 chapters from their country report (they should practice this at home)
2. Share a connection they have with the country (photo, poster, google slide show, video)
3. Share 2 items that represent their country (food, instrument, music, dance, clothing, book, artifact). 

If they choose to bring in food, please send in the list of ALL ingredients. Thanks! Email me with any questions !

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 3/2: Reading Calendars due: Feb. 
All notes should be done for Culture reports. 
* Fri. 3/6: Math: 12's multiplication timed test 
Unit 5 test 

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue to work on non fiction text structures and features. We will also work on main idea and detail with non fiction text.  We will finish working on our country reports and our African American biographies. We will be sharing our biography reports next week.  Your child should have all of their country report facts ready to go so they can start typing the final draft next week. 

*Spelling: We will focus on prefix/suffix. No spelling lists will be coming home, but your child will have a packet to work on both at home and at school. There will be  test in the upcoming weeks on this material- more info coming soon. 

*Science: We are studying more about inheritance and traits. We are looking at how our environment impacts our traits. 

*Social Studies: We will begin our unit on Chicago soon. We will talk about the history of this great city as we prepare for our field trip to the Chicago History Museum on March 27th.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We continue to work on division and multiplication as it relates to story problems, arrays, area, and perimeter. The study guide was sent home yesterday. It is due on Th. 3/5. The Unit 5 test is Friday 3/6. 


Have a great long weekend! Spring is just around the corner! WOO HOO!
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 2/24

Odds and Ends: 

* Culture Day: We are working hard on researching interesting facts about our countries and cultures. Next week I will assign a date for your child to present. Presentations will be tentatively scheduled for March 10, 11,  and 12 if we finish our final copies as planned. A note will come home with your child's presentation date, as well as more details about the presentation.  Please check in with your child to see how they are progressing in the research. We hope to all be ready to type our final copies by the first week of March.  Thanks!1

*February Reading Logs: Reading logs are due Mon. 3/2, but can be turned in when you have completed 20 days of reading. Thanks! 


THANK YOU to all of the parents who volunteered their time or donated items to our Valentine's Party. The kids had a great time!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Thurs. 2/27: Spelling: 3 activities and test 
Math: 12's multiplication test 


*Fri. 2/28: No School: Institute Day

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*ELA: We will work on continuing to research and type our final copies of our country/culture report. We are also focusing on non fiction text features and structures. 

* Spelling: We will continue to work with the same lists as last week. Due to the shortened week, the activities and test will be on Thurs. 2/27. During the month of March, we will take a break from spelling and focus on a word study of prefixes and suffixes. 

*Social Studies: We are working on our culture day projects. A note will be sent home containing information about your child's presentation on their culture/country. A portion of the presentation is reading a few of the chapters of their paper, which we are working on in class. They also need to prepare some of the presentation at home- they can bring in artifacts (photos, souvenirs, clothing, food), make a poster about the culture, a google slide show, etc. The note will explain their options.


 If your child chooses to send in food from his/her culture to share, please keep the following guidelines in mind: 
1. bite sized samples only to share!
2. send in a complete list of ingredients and NO NUTS please
3. If your food requires utensils or cups/plates, please provide them

This is a highlight of the year and the kids and teachers LOVE these presentations. It's a great way to learn about the world and each other. The presentations will begin the week of March 9 (Tues, Wed, and Thurs of that week).  Your child's note will have the exact day of their presentation, as not all students can share on the same day. 

*Science: We are having fun exploring traits and inheritance. Ask your child about the clay creatures they made in class and how they knew what traits to include! 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We are working with division and multiplication, arrays, and writing our own story problems. We are also learning about perimeter and area. We will work on 11's multiplication facts next week. 

Have a great weekend together!
Best, 
Mrs. Olsen