Third Grade Newsletter for December



[pic] [pic] [pic]

Third Grade Newsletter for January

|Important Reminder |

|School will be closed on January 16, 2011 |

|Reader’s Workshop |

| |

|This month’s focus will be on Reading Nonfiction / Expository Texts and… |

| |

|Introducing readers to expository nonfiction |

|Nonfiction structure and text features |

|Identify that expository information can be found in a boxes-and-bullets format |

|Break apart or chunk text information to hold onto the main idea…using post-its |

|Understanding key ideas and details, and differentiate between the main idea and the supporting details in a text |

|Reading for the “gist” while building the foundations for summarizing |

|Look for a “pop-out sentence” that could summarize the content of a paragraph or a passage |

|Wonder, understand and realize that expository texts enable the reader to analyze and draw conclusions on thinking while using |

|evidence |

|Learning new vocabulary and being able to speak like an expert on a nonfiction topic |

| |

|Writer’s Workshop: |

| |

|January we will focus on: Informational Writing and we will: |

| |

|Study published informational writing books to imagine how we can create our own |

|Grow potential topic ideas in our notebooks, wondering what we would teach other people if we had the opportunity |

|Write about some of our best topic ideas, to see how much we really know and how interested we really are in each |

|Select one topic to work with and take to publication, based on our previous knowledge and interest-level |

|Make a plan using various strategies, such as: creating a table of contents to think about, big topic ideas and smaller ideas to fit|

|inside them, bulleted lists, idea webs, topic and sub-topic boxes, dividing a topic into chapters, and more |

|Think about HOW we write, not just WHAT we write. |

|Explore the structure of informational writing (Table of Contents, Introduction, Topics and Sub-Topics, Headings, Bold Words, |

|Pictures/Diagrams, Captions, Conclusion, Glossary) and apply it to our own writing |

|Make cross-curricular connections with Social Studies and Science |

|Apply persuasive or opinion writing techniques to some parts as we convey factual information |

|Use transition words to move from detail to detail, to connect ideas from sub-topic to topic, and make sure paragraphs flow |

|Revise for interest, accuracy, and strong or powerful language and edit for writing mechanics |

|Celebrate our hard work! |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|Information Texts: |

|Time For Kids |

|X-Zone Series |

| |

| |

| |

|Additional Resources for home practice: |

|*Doing any traveling this January, or have you traveled recently? Have your child keep a diary account! |

| |

|*Have your child revisit the Holidays with a “How-To” guide about: How-To celebrate _______; How-To make the perfect _______ meal; |

|How-To Decorate for ______ - the possibilities are endless! |

| |

|*Create a Family Magazine for the month of January – each member of the family can contribute a different article around a theme you|

|choose together. |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|Math |

| |

|In the month of January our third grade students will be learning and reviewing the following topics in Math: |

| |

| |

|Multiplication and Division (continued from December) |

| |

|Graphing (bar graphs & pictographs) |

| |

|Geometry (label/identify and create these items) |

|- lines |

|- line segments |

|- points |

|- rays |

|- angles (acute – less than 90˚, right angles - 90˚, obtuse – greater than 90˚) |

| |

|- 2 dimensional figures – polygons (a closed figure with straight sides) |

|- triangle |

|- quadrilateral (square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid) |

|- pentagon |

|- hexagon |

|- octagon |

|- nonagon |

|- decagon |

|(be able to identify # of sides & angles of each polygon) |

| |

|Customary Units of Measure |

|- feet, inches |

| |

|Perimeter – distance around an object |

|- measure ALL sides in units |

| |

|Area – the space inside of an object |

|- count ALL tiles inside in square units |

| |

| |

| |

|Other key things to remember and practice: |

|- Please practice with multiplication flash cards to learn multiplication facts |

|- Please practice addition and subtraction with regrouping and zeros. |

|- Please practice standard form (621), written form (six hundred twenty one), and expanded form (600+20+1) of numbers through 9,999|

|at home. |

|- Please practice algebra problems at home |

|(i.e. 15 + n = 27 or n + 11 = 35 or 14 + 25 = n) |

|(i.e. n – 15 = 6 or 26 – n = 4 or 46 – 31 = n) |

|- Please continue to practice flashcards – addition, subtraction, & multiplication) |

| |

|Additional resources you can use to practice math skills at home with your child: |

| |

|- Math/Grade-3 |

|- Exercises.html |

|- |

|- skills-3rd-mathbuilders.htm |

|- grade3.htm |

|- 3rd-grade-math.html |

|- ipad.htm (Iphone, Ipod & Ipad apps for kids) |

| |

| |

|When chores and homework are done, |

|try this for some educational, video game fun: |

|(if you have these games, these are the activities your child can try on them) |

| |

|Nintendo ds |

|- Brain age – calculations, voice calculation, time lapse (challenge) |

|- Brain age 2 – sign finder, clock spin (challenge), change maker (challenge) |

|- Learn Math |

|- Math Blaster |

|- Brain Quest Grades 3&4 |

|- Junior Brain Trainer Math Edition |

|- Logic Machines |

|- Personal Trainer: Math |

| |

| |

|Nintendo Wii |

|- Big Brain Academy – All of the games are good skill practice but the COMPUTE section focuses on number skills specifically. |

| |

|IPod/IPad/IPhone |

|In the App store search: 3rd grade math |

|(prices for apps range from free-$2.99) |

|Some good apps are: |

| |

|- Basic Math w/ multiplication - Cloud Math |

|- Math eggs - Math Wizards |

|- Math Missing Numbers Attack - K12 money |

|- Number Math - Counting coins |

|- Math Series (patterns) - Montessori Place Value |

|- Math Attack - Grade 3 Math |

|- Coin Math - Column Addition |

|- Telling Time - Column Subtraction |

|- What Time? - Trade-first subtraction |

|- Brain Math - Multi Smart |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|Social Studies |

| |

|Citizenship and Geography |

|This month we will be continuing… |

|~ exploring the three types of communities (rural, urban and suburban) that we can live in and the characteristics of each. Which kind do|

|you live in? Take a walk around Franklin and find evidence! |

|~ We will be talking about how the members of a community make it work. What communities are you a part of and how do you help? |

| |

|Internet Activities and Websites: |

| ~ continent identification game |

|kids/socsci/books/applications/imaps/maps/g3_u1/index.html ~ interactive communities game |

|Check out Franklin Township online and see what you can find! |

|Science |

| |

|Weather |

|~ Where is Water Found on Earth?-The properties of water change based on where the water is located. (oceans, lakes, rivers, |

|underground sources, glaciers, fresh water, groundwater) |

|~ What is the Water Cycle?-Trace a droplet of water through the water cycle. (evaporation, condensation, precipitation) |

|~ What is Weather?-Discuss how weather can be observed and how land air and water absorb the Sun’s energy at different rates. |

|(atmosphere, oxygen, weather, temperature, anemometer) |

|~ How do clouds form? |

|~ What do different types of clouds mean to weather patterns? |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|Interesting Websites and Activities: |

|Websites: |

|This is a link to the NASA website. You can check out some interesting and informative cloud diagrams to learn about the |

|different types of clouds. |

|This is a link to the Weather Channel website . You and your child can observe precipitation and temperatures and |

|create a data table to note the cloud patterns that relate to the different types of weather. |

| |

[pic]

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download