week of 3/11

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 Wed. 3/13. Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 3/11: Culture Day Presentations Begin 

*Wed. 3/13: Jr. Achievement #4

*Fri. 3/15: Jr. Achievement #3 
Math: 5's division test  and Unit 5 test 
PE: Basketball 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 month 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 before spring break. 

* Science: We are finished with our unit of magnets and forces. We will focus on social studies and our Chicago unit. 

*Social Studies: Chicago...my kind of town! We began 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 are working on division and multiplication, focusing on how to write and solve story problems using these skills. We are wrapping up our unit next week as we work onf finding area. A study guide/practice test was sent home today and is due on Thurs. 3/14. The test will be on Fri. 3/15. We will work on 5's division facts this week, with a test on Fri. 3/15. 

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

Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 3/4-3/8

Odds and Ends: 

Culture Day Presentations are coming up! We are almost finished (or finished) with our country reports. Your child might need to work on this over the weekend. We spent all week typing our reports and they are turning out beautiful! We talked again about culture presentations today. 

Here is what your child is expected to do on the date of their presentation (the week of 3/11---see the purple note with the exact 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: 

*Fri. 3/1: No School: Teacher Institute Day 

*Mon. 3/4: Reading Calendars due: Feb. 

* Fri. 3/8: Math:2's division timed 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. 

*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 wrapping up our unit on forces and magnets. 

*Social Studies: We will begin our unit on Chicago. We will talk about the history of this great city as we prepare for our field trip to the Chicago History Museum on March 19th. 

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We continue to work on division and multiplication as it relates to story problems, arrays, area, and perimeter. We will begin our division timed tests with 2's division test on Fri. 3/8. 

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

Week of 2/25

Odds and Ends: 

* Culture Day: We are working hard on researching interesting facts about our countries and cultures. Starting on Monday, we will be typing the final copies, so all research has to be done by Monday. Please check your child's writing notebook to see that they have 4 good facts for each chapter so they are ready to start typing on Monday. Thanks!

*February Reading Logs: Reading logs are due Mon. 3/4, 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!

Also, THANK YOU to Mrs. Gillon who came to read and teach the kids all about Black History Month and African American inventors. It was so interesting!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Thurs. 2/28: Spelling: 3 activities and test 
Math: 12's multiplication test 


*Fri. 3/1: No School: Institute Day

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*ELA: We will work on typing our final copies of our country/culture report. We are also focusing on non fiction text features and structures. We will explore the Chicago book as we learn about non fiction text features and how they help with our comprehension. We are also applying some of these features to our country reports. 

* 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. 2/28. 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 11.  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 wrapping up our Amplify unit on forces and magnets in the next few weeks. We will understand the forces working to make the the floating train work!

*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 12's multiplication facts this week.  The following week, we will begin fast fact tests with the 2's division. 

Have a great weekend together!
Best, 
Mrs. Olsen 

week of 2/11

Odds and Ends: 

Parent teacher conferences with your child's math teacher will be held next week Mon and Tues. If you have not signed up and are interested in meeting with your child's math teacher, please email!

Valentine's Day: We will have a classroom celebration on Thurs. 2/14 from 1:30-2:15. We will be making our own decorated Valentine's bags to be used as our "mail boxes" for Valentines. If your child wishes to share Valentine's with his/her classmates, we have 23 students in our room. It is optional, however, if you share, we ask you bring enough for every student in the room. Your child will be taking home a class list today if they choose to personalize their cards (again, optional!) Any treats attached to the cards will be sent home to be enjoyed. Remember, we are a nut free classroom!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Wed. 12/13: Social Studies: Ch. 3 test 

*Thurs. 2/14: Happy Valentine's Day! 
Spelling: 3 activities and test due 
Math: 8's multiplication test

*Fri. 2/15: No School 
*Mon. 2/18: No School: President's Day 

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue to explore non fiction text features and structures. We will also work on writing informational papers as we start our culture day research. Your child should pick a country/culture from their own background to do research on and eventually present a culture day project on (more information coming home on that later). We will begin doing our research in class on Monday, so please have them choose a country from their own culture over the weekend. This is a connection to our social studies unit on culture and immigration and a great way for students to share about their own cultures to their classmates. 

*Spelling: We will work with the same words from last week. 3 activities and a test are due on Thurs. 2/14. 

*Social Studies: We are wrapping up our unit on ch. 3. Your child should have 3 graded quizzes in their SS folder that they can use to study for Wednesday's test. We will be taking the last lesson 4 quiz on Monday.  Your child received a study guide this week. Filling out the study guide is optional, however, I explained to the class the importance of studying a little each night to prepare for the test. They can bring home their SS textbook each night as long as they return it to school the next day so we can use it .  If your child fills out the study guide, they can earn PAWs or goodie tickets. We will play a review game on Tues and take the test on Wed. 2/13. 

*Science: We are working on gravity and magnetic forces and how 2 forces can be acting upon one object at once. We are learning about stability, balanced and unbalanced objects and forces. Ask your child how they made a paper clip float!

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We will begin Unit 5 on Monday, learning more about the relationship between multiplication and division. We will also focus on 8's multiplication facts, with the test on Thurs. 2/14. 

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 2/4

Odds and Ends: 

Welcome back! What a crazy weather week here in Chicagoland! I hope you all got some winters rest and relaxation over the past few days!  Many of the students reported back about the boiling water in the cold weather and blowing bubbles that froze. So cool! 

Due to the strange week, I am allowing any students who did not turn in their January Reading logs to do so on Mon. 2/4. February Reading logs were given to students today. They are due March 1st. Thanks !

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Wed. 2/6: No math: Science is Cool Assembly 

*Fri. 2/8: Math : Unit 4 test, 7's multiplication test 

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue to learn about non-fiction text structures and features.  We will also learn more about verbs. 

* Spelling: A new word list will be sent home with students.  The 3 activities and test will be due on Thurs. 2/14. 

* Social Studies: We will continue to learn about immigration and migration. We will focus on immigration long ago when immigrants came by boat to Ellis Island. 

* Science: We will continue our study on magnets, force, and gravity. 

*Mrs.Olsen's Math Class: Due to the shortened week, we will have our Unit 4 test next Fri. 2/8. A study guide will be sent home today and due on Thurs. 2/7. We will review Thurs. and take the test on Fri. We will also work on 7's multiplication next week with the test on Fri. 2/8 as well. 

Enjoy the weekend!

Erin 

Week of 2/28

Congrats to Makayla and Ohemaa who were the top 2 spellers in our class spelling bee! They will represent our class during the grade level spelling bee next week. Way to go! 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Thurs. 1/31: Early Dismissal 

*Fri. 2/1: Spelling: Test and 3 activities due
January Reading Logs due
Math: 6's multiplication test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will focus on non fiction text features and text structures as we explore a variety of non fiction texts. 

*English: We are working on learning more about verbs and writing some personal narratives about our own traditions and special objects. 

* Spelling: We will continue to work on our list from last week. The test is Fri. 2/1 and 3 activities are also due 2/1. 

*Social Studies: We are working on ch. 3 in our Social Studies textbook, focusing on culture, traditions, and immigration and migration. 

*Science: We continue to study forces as we explore gravity. 

*Mrs.Olsen's Math Class: We are working on fractions. We will work on 6's multiplication facts with a test on Fri. 2/1. 

Stay warm!
Mrs. Olsen 

Week of 1/21

Odds and Ends:

Thank  you to our parent chaperones for attending our Shedd Aquarium field trip. It was a great day and the kids learned so much and had fun!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 1/21: No School

*Fri. 1/25: Math: 4's multiplication timed tests

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading and English: We will continue to study culture and tradition. We will also begin learning about non fiction text features and structures. We will continue our unit on Verbs.

*Spelling: We will start a new list. Words will be handed out on Tues and 3 activities and a test are due Feb. 1.

* Social Studies: We will begin ch. 3 on Immigration and Culture,a great connection to what we are focusing on in reading. We will be sending home information about our culture day project soon.

*Science: We continue to explore the floating train as we explore gravity.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We have been busy exploring measurement as we learn about the metric measurement system. Be sure to ask your child about what tools and terms of measurement are measured when we discuss mass, volume, and length.  For example, mass uses a balance and measures using grams and kilograms. We will work on 4's multiplication facts this week with a test on Friday. 

Have a great, long weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 1/14

Odds and Ends: 

Welcome back and Happy 2019! I hope all of you had a wonderful, relaxing and fun break together. We are in the 2nd half of 3rd grade, which is hard to believe!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Thurs. 1/17: Shedd Aquarium Field Trip : pack a disposable lunch!

*Fri. 1/18: Spelling: 3 activities and test due
Cursive handwriting workbook due
Math: 3's multiplication fast fact

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading:  We are continuing our unit on culture and traditions. We focused on teeth tradition this week and learned what kids from around the world do when they lose a tooth as we read the book Throw Your Tooth on the Roof. We are doing an informative/persuasive writing unit on what animal teeth we would want to have and why after reading If I Had Animal Teeth.  We will work on this next week.

*English: We will begin our unit on Verbs.

*Spelling:  3 activities and the next test will be on Fri. 1/18.  Please ask your child how many activities they are done with so they can plan accordingly.

* Science:  We are continuing to work on ch. 3 of the Amplify Unit, where we will focus on magnetic forces and investigate more about the floating train.

*Social Studies: We will start ch. 3 on immigration. We will tie this unit into our ELA curriculum as we focus on culture, tradition and where our ancestors and relatives have come from.  Look for information about our culture day projects coming in a few weeks.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: We are starting Unit 4 on measurement and fractions. We began with telling time to the minute and working on elapsed time.  This can be a tricky concept, so its a good skill to practice at home. We will work on metric measurement next. We are also working with 3's multiplication facts with a test on Fri. 1/18.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen