Week of 10/31

Odds and Ends

*Halloween Party: A great BIG thank you to the following parents for all of their help with our awesome Halloween party: Mr. Hoffman, Mrs. Messina, Mrs. Alvarez, Mrs. Padavic, Mrs. Moy, Mrs. Arce, Mrs. Sprandel, and Mrs. Jablonski. Thank you parents who sent in any treats or supplies for the party. The kids had a "spook-tacular" time!

*Rollerskating permission slips are due by Thurs. There is a limited amount of space, so turn it in ASAP.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 10/31: Happy Halloween! Wear your favorite Halloween t shirt or orange and black!

* Tues. 11/1: Reading: Cliffhanger Vocab Review

*Wed. 11/2: Math: Rounding Review

* Thurs. 11/3: Picture Retakes

*Fri. 11/4: Spelling: List 8 Test

Math: Ch 2 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to discuss cause and effect and synonyms and antonyms. Also, the October Reading calendar is due on Monday. Your child will receive a November calendar on Monday that is due at the end of the month. Remember to sign 20 days that your child read 30 minutes a day to receive full credit. Thank you!

*English: We are finishing up our descriptive writing unit. Your child should be sharing their haunted house descriptions with you this weekend. We will finish our final copies early next week. Next unit: ch 2 Nouns.

*Spelling: We are back to list 8. The pretest is Monday and final test and homework are on Friday.

*Science: We will begin our new unit: ch 11 : Matter.

* Social Studies: We will begin our Downers Grove History study this week. Look for a field trip permission slip coming home this week. If you want to chaperon, it is first come, first serve, so please turn in your permission slips ASAP.

*Math: We will continue to focus on rounding numbers this week. The ch. 2 test will be on Friday, 11/4. Look for a study guide coming home this week. Also, we will begin our multiplication facts. We are going to go through all of the facts in 7 weeks. A note explaining which facts we are focusing on will be sent home at the beginning of each week. Your child will also have nightly multiplication homework in addition to the lesson of the day's homework. The tests will be at the end of every week. The first facts are the "squares" 2x2, 3x3, etc. Thank you for all of your help studying at home!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/24

Odds and Ends:

*Thank you to the following parents for helping label our classroom books with Lexile scores: Mrs. Fragoso, Mrs. Alvarez, Mrs. Cibulka, Mrs. Ozgen, Mrs. Sprandel, and Mrs. Kalal. I still have books that need to be labeled, so if you are available, please email me and we can set up a date and time for you to come help. Thank you so much!!!

*Paper Recycling: Did you know that you can help our district earn money by recycling paper here at school? You can bring in any paper (no cardboard please) to the green and yellow bin marked Paper Retriever located in Lakeview's parking lot to be recycled. The more paper we collect, the more money we can earn. The provider of the bin uses the paper to make newsprint, which is then sold to other companies. That is how we are paid to recycle paper. Thank you for your help (and for helping the environment at the same time!)

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 10/24: Spelling: Halloween Words: no pretest

*Wed. 10/26: Science: Ch 4 Test (moved from Tues. 10/25)

*Thurs. 10/27: English: DOL Quiz #3 (moved from Tues. 10/25)

Early Dismissal: 11:00 am

*Fri. 10/28: Spelling: Halloween words Test

Halloween Festivities: Parade at 1:00 pm

Party at 1:30 pm

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will begin to focus on cause and effect as we read stories from the basal and other materials such as non fiction articles and chapter books. We will also work on synonyms and antonyms.

*English: We will be putting our descriptive writing skills to the test as we write our descriptive paragraphs about our haunted houses. We will take our DOL #3 quiz on Thurs. 10/27, which covers book titles and introductory words.

*Spelling: BOO! This week we will focus on Halloween words with a fun spelling week. There will be no pretest, but homework will be assigned Monday that is due Friday. The test will be on Friday.

*Science: We are finishing up ch 4. The final test was scheduled for Tues. 10/25, but it has been moved to Wed. 10/26. Remember, your child can find our textbook online by going to www.thinkcentral.com. The username is the same code that is used for parent connect. I will include the password in an email to you. This saves your child from having to carry home the textbook to study. Next chapter: matter.

*Social Studies: We are done with our first map skills unit. We will focus on communities and learn more about Downers Grove. A field trip during this unit will be scheduled. More information coming soon!

*Math: We will begin ch 2: rounding and comparing numbers. Today in math we cleaned out our math folders and put the worksheets we don't need anymore into the take home folder. Please look through these papers with your child and recycle or keep the papers at home, but please clean them out of the binder. Thank you! You can help our school earn money by bringing the papers to the green and yellow paper recycling bin (marked Paper Retriever) in Lakeview's parking lot to be recycled. The more paper we recycle, the more money we can earn for our district! Thank you!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/17

Odds and Ends

* Scholastic Book Order: I sent home a book order for October. I forgot that this month we have a book fair at school, so if you would like to save your orders for our book fair, that is great! If you still want to order through the classroom order, they are due 10/21. Thank you!

* Weekly Email Reminders: Just a friendly reminder... the office staff will send out a weekly reminder email containing information about upcoming events and happenings here at school. Attached to this email is often the permission slips needed for the events. This is a great tool to use when looking for permission slips or information about school events. Thanks!

*Our picture packets should arrive on Tuesday, October 18th

Our retake day is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 3rd

UPCOMING EVENTS:

* Mon. 10/17: Spelling: List 7 Pretest

*Fri. 10/21: Spelling: List 7 Test

Math: Ch 1 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to work on inferencing as we read good fit books. We will work on word, setting, and character inferences.

*English: We are busy working on descriptive writing. We have discussed color words, similes, metaphors, and we will discuss sensory details, sentence starters, and "hook" (good openings) this week. We will also work on DOL #3: book titles and introductory words.

* Spelling: We are back to spelling this week: List 7. As always, pretest on Monday, and final test and homework due on Friday.

*Social Studies: We are wrapping up our map skills unit. The hemispheres quiz is on Thurs. 10/20. Next unit is a closer look at our community: Downers Grove.

*Science: We will work on ch 4 and discuss how ecosystems are changing and being destroyed. The final test will be Tues. 10/25.

*Math: We will be finishing up ch. 1 as we look at 5 and 6 digit numbers. The students will need to know place value up the 6 digits and know the standard, expanded, and word form for 6 digit numbers. We will review these concepts. The final test is Fri. 10/21.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/10

Odds and Ends:

*Scholastic Book Order: Thank you to all of those who ordered online last month...our class earned lots of free books! The October order has been sent home and will be due Fri. 10/21.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 10/10: No School: Columbus Day

*Tues. 10/11: No School: Institute Day

*Fri. 10/14: Math: Subtraction Timed Test: Graded

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: Our continued focus will be on inferring this week as we practice using many reading strategies to improve our reading. The inferences we make will be about text, characters and unfamiliar words.

*English: We are working on our descriptive writing unit: color words, similes, metaphors, sensory words..oh my! We are also beginning DOL #3: Book titles and introductory words.

*Spelling: Due to the shortened week, NO spelling this week!

*Social Studies: We will be finishing up our map skills unit as we study hemispheres.

*Science: We are continuing to learn about ecosystems and living things in chapter 4.

*Math: We started ch 1: focusing on place value up to 6 digits. We will continue to practice our subtraction timed tests. We will grade this test on Friday, 10/14.

Enjoy the LONG weekend and the gorgeous weather!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/3

Odds and Ends:

*Magazine Drive: A BIG thank you to everyone who participated in our fundraiser. Our class was the 3rd top selling classroom! WOW!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 10/3: Spelling:List 6 Pretest

*Wed. 10/5: English: DOL #2 Quiz
Math: Ch. 4 Test

*Fri. 10/7: Spelling: List 6 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading:We will focus on the reading strategy inferencing. The students will use basal reading stories, supplemental short stories, and possibly novels to extend their practice of understanding what they read. Students will learn new vocabulary words from stories they are reading. We will also continue to work on an extended response where we use ideas from the text combined with our own ideas to answer a question.

*English: We will finish our ME essays and share our bags and paper next week. We will begin a new writing unit on descriptive writing.

*Spelling: We will work on list 6. Pretest on Monday and homework and final test on Friday. Keep up the outstanding work!

*Social Studies: We will continue our map skills unit with hemispheres.

*Science: The students worked in cooperative groups to create amazing ecosystem dioramas! We will continue our study of ecosystems this week.

*Math: We are finishing up subtraction in ch. 4. The test is scheduled for Wed. 10/5. Next up: Chapter 1: place value! We will continue to practice our subtraction timed tests next week.

Have a fabulous FALL weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/26-9/30

Odds and Ends:

*Johnny Appleseed's Birthday: We will celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday on Monday, Sept. 26th. A note was sent home with your child about bringing a PEELED, CORED, and SLICED apple to class in a baggie or container on Monday. We will use it to make homemade applesauce. Thank you to the following families for donating our supplies for Monday's celebration:The Nichols family for spoons, the Messina family for bowls, and the Cigrand family for juice! Thanks!

*Magazine Drive: Turn in dates for this week: Tues. 9/27 and Thurs. 9/30.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/26: Johnny Appleseed's Birthday: Send in a peeled, cored, and sliced apple to school!

Spelling: List 5 pretest

*Fri. Spelling: List 5 test

September Reading 30 minutes calendar due: 20 days signed for full credit! You can also turn this in on Monday, 10/3.

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading:Next week we will continue to highlight summarizing and sequencing using materials differentiated for our classroom's various reading levels, and will be extending our knowledge through written responses. We will also assess our third graders on their ability to sequence events from text.

*English: We will work on learning about the 6 traits of writing. We will begin our 5 paragraph essay this week and present the finished product by the end of the week. Your child should be completing the ME bag at home by bringing in 3 items that represent their life and personality to school in their brown paper bag (we started decorating the bags in class on Friday). These items are due on Monday.

*Spelling: This week we will focus on list 5. Pretest will be Monday. Homework and test will be on Friday.

*Social Studies: We will focus on hemispheres, the equator, prime meridian, and poles this week.

*Science: We will continue to work on ch. 4 ecosystems this week.

*Math: We will work on ch. 4 subtraction this week. We will also begin subtraction timed tests. They will be handled in the same way as we did addition. We will spend several days practicing the tests before they are counted as a grade.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/19-9/23

Odds and Ends:

*Magazine Drive: Your child received a magazine drive packet this week. If you want to participate in this school fundraiser, the turn in dates are Tues. 9/20, Tues. 9/27, and Thurs. 9/29.

*PE - Soccer test "next" Thursday (study guides will go home Monday)

Intramural Games Permission slips will be sent home on Monday. They are due back by Friday. More information can be found on the PE website.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/19: Spelling: List 4 Pretest

*Tues. 9/20: Math: Ch 3 Test

*Thurs. 9/22: Social Studies: Continents and Oceans Quiz

English: DOL #1 Graded Review

*Fri. 9/23: Spelling: List 4 Test

Scholastic Book Orders due: order online or send in check and order to the classroom

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading:Now we will start to put the reading strategies we have learned to great use while reading various types of literature. We will always be reviewing/using all of the strategies, but for the coming weeks we will highly focus on the strategies of sequencing and summarizing. The students will use basal reading stories, supplemental short stories, and possibly novels to extend their practice of understanding what they read. As a third grade we are really highlighting oral and written responses to what was read and will integrate this throughout. We will also work on an extended response where we use ideas from the text combined with our own ideas to answer a question.

*English: We will work on 6 +1 traits of writing this week as we apply it to our own writing. We will work on 5 paragraph essays soon. We have also begun DOL (Daily Oral Language). We practice "editing" incorrect sentences as we learn about convention rules. A study guide will be sent home on Monday for the quiz on Thurs.

*Spelling: We will work on list 4 words this week. There will be a pretest on Monday. The final test will be on Friday and homework will be due on Friday.

*Social Studies: We will continue to work on continents and oceans. The students did research in the computer lab on a specific continent and will be sharing their facts with the group this week. The graded review on the location and spelling of the continents and oceans will be on Thurs. 9/22. We will study hemispheres next.

*Science: We will begin ch 4: ecosystems later this week.

*Math: We will be finishing up ch. 3 this week. We will work on addition word problems and review concepts. The ch. 3 test will be Tuesday. We will continue to practice addition timed tests this week. They will begin to count for a grade on Friday 9/23.

Have a beautiful fall weekend together with your family!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/12

Odds and Ends:

*Science textbook now available online: Our class is signed up and ready to go. Please go to www.thinkcentral.com. Click on science and health. Then click HSP science. Choose Illinois and Center Cass District 66 and Prairieview School. The user name is your student's code when using parent connect. I will email you the password to use. Please let me know if you need any additional help viewing our textbook online!

*Thank you to all of the families who have donated items for our classroom! It is much appreciated!

*Scholastic Book Order: September book orders were sent home this week. The order is due online or to the classroom (please send CHECK only if not ordering online..NO CASH) by Friday, 9/23. Our class earns free books when you order safely online. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/12: Magazine Drive Kick off: Look for information packets coming home Monday.

Spelling: List 3 Pretest

*Thurs. 9/15: English: Ch. 1: The Sentence Test

Band Concert

*Fri. 9/16: Spelling: List 3 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: Next week we will continue to teach the students how to utilize the essential reading strategies. In our classes we will demonstrate how the application of these strategies will maximize student comprehension of a range of literary materials.

*English: We will focus on subject and predicate this week, as well as run-on sentences. The final ch. 1 test will be Thurs. 9/15. A study guide was sent home today. Your child can bring home his/her textbook any night before the test to study, as long as they bring the book back each school day.

*Spelling: This week we will work on list 3: more short vowel words. There will be a pretest on Monday and a final test on Friday. Each group will be given 3 homework assignments that will be due on Friday.

*Social Studies: We have finished up our lessons on directions and the compass rose. Ask your child about the fun scavenger hunt we had around school this week. We will begin our study on continents and oceans this week.

*Science: Coming soon!

*Math: We will continue to work on addition, focusing on adding greater numbers and regrouping. We will also continue to work on our addition facts. Keep practicing them at home! The ch. 3 test is tentatively scheduled for Mon. 9/19.

Have a wonderful fall weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of Sept. 6-9

Odds and Ends

*Curriculum Night: It was so great to see so many of you at Thursday night's Curriculum Night. Thank you for sharing your night with us as we went over 3rd grade with you. If were unable to come, I will send any notes home with your child today. I will also sign you up for a conference time and notify you of that date as is gets closer. If it does not work for you, we can reschedule. Thank you!

*Donations: If you took a hand off of our "Give us a Hand" board at open house or curriculum night, thank you for your donations. You can send in your chosen item at any time. Thank you for "Giving Us A HAND!"

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/5: No School: Labor Day

*Tues. 9/6: Spelling: Pretest List 2

* Thurs. 9/8: MAPS testing: Reading

*Fri. 9/9: Spelling: List 2 Test

Social Studies: Directions Quiz

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: The third grade starts off our reading curriculum by teaching the students to use various reading strategies. We model the use of these strategies while reading high interest picture books to the class. We then will spend the year extending the use of these strategies while reading a variety of literary materials to aid in comprehension. This coming week, we will learn about predicting, inferring, and visualizing.

*English: We will focus on ch 1: The sentence. We will work on subjects and predicates. We will also begin DOL (Daily Oral Language) as we focus on conventions and fixing incorrect sentences.

*Spelling: We will work on list 2: short vowel words. There will be a pretest on Tuesday and the test will be on Friday. Due to the shortened week, your child will have 2 homework assignments due Friday.

*Social Studies: We will continue to work on map skills as we focus on cardinal and intermediate directions and the compass rose. We will have a short quiz on these skills on Friday 9/9. Look for a study guide coming home on Tuesday.

*Science: We will begin our science unit on ecosystems soon!

*Math: We will work on ch 3 Addition. We will begin practicing our addition timed tests (mad minutes). I wanted to make a correction to something I shared with you at curriculum night. For each trimester, homework will be worth 5 points TOTAL (rather than 1o points). After the three "free" late assignments, a late slip will be given for each late assignment, resulting in 1 point deducted per assignment. If your child never has any late slips, they will keep the 5 points. Thank you!

Enjoy the long weekend with your summer as we say good bye to summer and hello to fall!

Mrs. Olsen

Welcome Back Week of 8/29

Hello and Welcome to 3rd Grade!

We have had a great start to our new year together!

I am enjoying getting to know each student better and

I am looking forward to a wonderful year together!

It was nice to meet so many of you at Open House.
I am looking forward to seeing you again at our Curriculum Night next Thursday.

Please visit here each week to know what's happening in our busy classroom!

*Binders: Your child organized their binder this week at school. The binder, along with an assignment notebook, will come back and forth from home to school each day. Please make it a routine to check and sign the assignment notebook each day and empty out the "take home" folder in the binder. All other papers remain in the designated folders. Homework and important notes that need to be returned to school will be put in the "homework" section of the binder. Thank you for your help and cooperation with this important organization system!

Lunch bags: Please make sure your child has his/her first and last name on his/her lunch bag. This helps us keep track of it during the school year. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 8/29: Spelling: Pretest List 1

Music Class

*Tues. 8/30: IMC class

*Wed. 8/31: Art Class

*Thurs. 9/1: 3rd Grade Curriculum Night 6:30-7:30 pm

*Fri. 9/2: Spelling: List 1 Graded Test

IMC Book check out

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

* Reading: We will be reading books about great character traits and practicing our reading strategies this week. We will be doing fun activities as we build a recipe for a successful year together!

*English: We will begin ch. 1: The sentence. I will be pretesting the students to gain a better understanding of their prior knowledge that will help me plan the chapter to meet their needs.

*Spelling: List 1: We will focus on back to school words. There will be a pretest on Monday and a graded test on Friday. On Monday, look for a yellow sheet of paper explaining our spelling procedure in your child's binder. Your child will receive homework for the week that is due on Friday.

* Social Studies: We will begin our map skills unit on directions, continents and oceans, and hemispheres.

*Science: We will learn about our textbook with a textbook mapping activity.

*Math: We will meet together with our math students on Thurs. 9/1.

Enjoy your weekend together!
Mrs. Olsen