Dear Parents,
These last two weeks have been nonstop in third grade. On Wednesday, we visited the book fair where some students did a wishlist and other made purchases. The next day, grades three through five went to Matt Tavares' presentation. He did an excellent job explaining the process he needs to go through as an author and illustrator to complete a book. Just as writers have editors who make suggestions about the story, illustrators also go through a similar process. It was very interesting to see detailed drawings that needed to be greatly changed to be accepted by the publisher. He also went into detail about the amount of research he needs to do to be accurate in both the story and illustrations. His best advice for budding authors and illustrator is to keep on reading, writing, and drawing. Congratulations to Mrs. McCullough on her first Book Fair and Authorfest! On Thursday, Mr. P. came in to read the last few chapters of Shredderman. Nolan Byrd (a.k.a. Shredderman) uses his technology skills on his website to expose Bubba Bixby as the bully of Cedar Valley. Shredderman gives all of the students the courage to stand up and have a voice when being bullied. As Nolan's teacher, Mr. Green said, "Shredderman is a little of all of us". Mr. P. has promised to read the sequel after Thanksgiving break. On Friday we met again with our kindergarten buddies to design tee shirts for the Turkey Trot. Students had fun personalizing their shirts to wear on Tuesday. CURRICULUM Social Studies In our mix-it-up groups this week we constructed Ojo de Dios-god's eyes. This is a traditional art is an ancient symbol made by the Huichol Indians of western Mexico. The four points of the sticks represent the earth, wind, water, and fire- important elements of nature. The central eye was made when the child was born and each year yarn was woven around until the child turned five. They were made to protect the child and keep them healthy. Students did their weavings to include their present age. In class this week, each student chose an individual topic to research and study about Mexico. We will be using class time to do this research. Math Last week, we started chapter 6 using multiplication with 6, 7, 8, and 9. In this chapter we will be using different strategies to help students to learn the how and why in multiplication concepts. Language Arts We completed unit 6 in spelling using words with ew and oo sounds. Some skills we also worked on were analogiers, inferences, homophones, and patterns. We also reviewed skills from units 1-5. Over the last couple of week, we also wrapped up our unit on nouns with various plurals. Students learned when to add s, es, ies, change the word completely, or not at all. We have completed all our lowercase cursive letters and spent some time focusing on practicing joinings. Reading In Santiago's Silver Mine, the boys go to a nearby town to sell plums at the market. While they are there, they see Jose acting very suspicious and selling something. They try to investigate, but are unsuccessful. As with every chapter, we add Spanish/English vocabulary and continue with the problem/solution page. Students also wrote a letter to Papa, in the first person as though they were Santiago. We also did a comparison activity of San Juan de la Montana and the student's town. Writing Students are in process of completing their altar stories. Once written, we edit together, then the students type the final piece. The stories include interesting and personal stories that the students really take pride in writing. Even though the weather didn't cooperate and the Turkey Trot was cancelled, everyone had fun wearing their tee shirts Tuesday in class. I hope everyone has a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving break with friends and family. Sincerely, Gayle
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Dear Parents, The forecast for the month of November, is busy. We are in the midst of various Mexican related projects as we submerge into that culture. Last Friday, Mr. Perez (Diego's dad) came in to talk to the third grade about his experience celebrating Days of The Dead while living in Mexico. He spoke about his family's traditions and how they might be different, in different parts of Mexico. He also brought in home baked pan de muertos to share with the students. On Tuesday, our mix-it-up groups completed their maps of Mexico. Each map represents something different-landforms, agriculture, natural resources and political. They included a compass and map key along with bordering countries. In class we have been reading Look What Came From Mexico, which gives examples of food, clothes, toys, and other products originally from Mexico. As a special treat, Maitea brought in different kinds of dark chocolate from Mexico- vanilla, cinnamon, and salted almond. Students did taste tests to compare the different flavors. The chocolate had some sweetness due to the flavorings, but generally, natural chocolate is bitter. Next week, we will be choosing individual topics to research about the culture. CURRICULUM Reading This week in Santiago's Silver Mine, the boys find ways to earn money to help their family. In the process, they discover something unusual about the silver mine, that makes them believe that there is still silver in there. Writing Students have been working on their altar stories this week. The additional stories that they are going to include in their writing are due on Tuesday. Language Art In handwriting we have worked on cranking up letters m and n as well as the letter x. Although x is not commonly used (except of course in Felix's name) we practiced connecting it to other letters. Our unit 5 spelling list uses the vowel sound /oo/ spelled with ew and oo. Some skills we also used were guide words, analogies, inferences, homophones, and patterns. Math We completed our unit on bar modeling. Students did a great job using the bar models to work out two step word problems. Next week we will begin chapter 6 using multiplication facts 6-9. We have been practicing multiplication on IXL for a few weeks so the students will feel comfortable in this chapter. K-3 Buddies Today our students met with their buddies to do a getting-to-know-you activity in Mrs. Bullard's class. Students in my class selected "favorite" topics (favorite food, favorite book etc.) The buddy partners drew pictures of their "favorites" and shared them with the class. Next week, we will design our Turkey Trot tee shirts in preparation for Turkey Trot on Tuesday November 20th. Please have the plain white tee shirts in by Wednesday. Grade 5/6 play On Wednesday we were treated to the 5th and 6th grade play Dear Edwina. The students did an amazing job singing, dancing, and entertaining the rest of the school. Special shoutouts go to Zeke Dodd, Lily Gangi, and of course the main character Edwina, Hallie Martin. Mr. Bean and Mr. Murdock did a fabulous job as always! Veteran's Day This week we spent some time talking about the importance of Veteran's Day on November 11th. During All School Meeting on Wednesday, Mrs. Mc Cullough shared a book by Matt Tavares about Ted Williams. In addition to be an outstanding Red Sox player, he was also a veteran. In class, we talked about the sacrifice that both the soldiers and their families make while serving in the armed forces. This tied in nicely to all the Halloween candy people generously donated to send overseas to our troops. I delivered the candy to Drs. Barrsvik and Souza's office on Wednesday. They were very appreciative. Book Fair and visiting author Matt Tavares Students brought home fliers about next week's book fair. We will shop during our library period (Wednesday at 12:45). Students may bring in money to shop then, or visit the book fair with their families after school. Our class will see the presentation by Matt Tavares on Thursday at 11:30 in the Commons. I hope everyone has an enjoyable long weekend. Sincerely, Gayle Dear Parents, This week has flown by a flurry of activities in third grade. On Tuesday in our mix-it-up groups, students assembled their altars. On Friday, each student had the opportunity to share their altar, giving information about the person it is dedicated to, and explaining the importance of the objects included. Each altar was very meaningful and personal. On Friday, we were also treated to pan de muertos, or bread of the dead. Julio Perez (Diego's dad) was kind enough to come in and share this home baked tradition. This week we also watched a special movie in honor of Days Of The Dead called, The Book Of Life. On Wednesday we celebrated Halloween at Friends Academy with the traditional Halloween parade and gathering at the Commons. Each grade had the chance to show off their costumes and sing Monsters In The Closet, a longtime favorite. We then returned to our rooms, to have delious snacks prepared by our parents. Everything was amazing and we appreciate all your hard work. CURRICULUM Reading On Monday we started reading our new book called Santiago's Silver Mine. This story takes place in a rural section of Mexico called San Juan de la Montana. Although this is fiction, many aspects of the lives of the characters are true. Students will see a distinct difference between the events in this book and their own lives. This book also provides a rich, cultural description of Mexico. Writing Students are currently working on their writing piece about the person they honored with their altar. Next week, students will be coming home with an additional assignment to add to their information. Each student will need a special story about their person. These stories could be from their childhood or adult years, adding a personal touch. Some examples from the past are: A story about when Grandpa went cross-country, visiting baseball parks; A story about when Aunt Catherine played field hockey in college and scored the winning goal; The time Uncle Harry was out in his fishing boat in the middle of a terrible storm. The stories are small, personal, moments in their lives. Language Arts This week we completed unit 4 using words with oi and ou. Some concepts we worked on were analogies, idioms, and context clues. We also started learning rules for making nouns plural. Words ending in s, ss, x, ch, and sh need to have an es added to the word. In handwriting we have worked with letters m and n. Math We are continuing to solve word problems with bar models. Students have solved two step problems and gained a deeper understanding of the importance of vocabulary in math. In IXL we have been practicing our multiplication facts 2-5 and related concepts with these facts. Each student works at their own pace with individualized skills. On Tuesday November 6 it is "Photo Retake Day". Any parent who wishes to have their child's school photo redone on that day should contact Mrs. Machado. A flyer for the Book Fair went home today to give parents a heads-up of days and times it will be open in the Commons. DONATE YOUR UNWANTED HALLOEEN CANDY TO OPERATION GRATITUDE! Baarsvik -Souza O)rthodontics on Tucker Road in Dartmouth will be collecting Halloween candy until November 7th to send to our troops overseas. They are giving $1.00 for every pound, but it is the cause that really matters. With Veteran's Day around the corner, perhaps this is a meaningful way to give back to our soldiers. As a class, we had a conversation about the importance of helping others and appreciating the sacrifice they and their families are making. Donations can be brought to their office on 1403 Tucker Road or to school and I am happy to deliver them myself. Thank you for considering this worthwhile cause. I hope everyone enjoys the weekend! Sincerely, Gayle Dear Parents, As the days in October grow increasingly cooler, I would like to remind parents to send their children with warm outer wear. Should it warm up during the day, they can always peel off a layer. This week we have been working on a number of projects. Students created family shields depicting activities that they like to do as a family. They are in various forms of completion. A writing piece about the shields are also "work in progress". As we get into the Halloween spirit (no pun intended) students have been creating fictional Halloween stories. Their completed work will outside our classroom for all to read. CURRICULUM Reading This week we completed Minstrel In The Tower and finished end -of- the- book activities. Students used their map skills to create a map of Roger and Alice's journey. Their final maps were created by soaking paper in coffee to appear old. They also did "I Wonder" questions, a character trait activity, a story map, and making connections. As a fun project they made a pyramid of the hierarchy of classes during the Middle Ages and and grid activity (similar to Battleship) of knights' ownership of land. Our genre wall of books has been growing. When students complete a book, they write the title on a card and put it under the genre. As of now, graphic novels and realistic fiction are in the lead. Math This week we are wrapping up chapter 4 on subtraction. We will have our assessment on Monday. Twice a week we workon IXL math skills. This week our new certificate came stating that as of October 19th our class did 2,000 math problems! Just since October 10th, we completed 1,000 problems! Great job everyone! Language Arts We completed Spelling unit 3 using short u sounds. Some of the skills in this unit we did were analogies, inferences, context clues, and patterns. When working with nouns, students identified common and proper nouns. This can be a bit tricky as students are learning this new skill. In handwriting, we continued to work with "tow truck" letters learning how the shape of letters changes when it is "cranked up" by a w, b, o, and v. Social Studies This week in our mix-it-up groups, students worked in pairs on maps of Mexico. First we looked at various types of maps (population, rainfall, product etc.). Then the groups each designed their particular map, map key, and compass. They also identified bordering countries, bodies of water, and the capital city. Just a reminder, that their Altar Inquiry Forms and supplies for creating their altar are due this coming Monday (Oct. 22). Shredderman Nolan comes up with an amazing project for Mr. Green's class. Using a top secret Web site, Nolan invents a plan to expose bully Bubba Bixby. The trickiest part of this plan, is keeping it from his parents. This is message from Jodi Pink: Thursday, November 15th: Join us for a great Parents' Night Out at FA in support of the Book Fair. Click here to learn more and register. Childcare is available, but you must register for it in advance. Students brought home flyers about author Matt Tavares on Monday. Book orders (and personal messages) are due on Monday. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. Sincerely, Gayle DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, MY CAMERA WOULD NOT COOPERATE THIS WEEK. SORRY! Dear Parents,
Every year, Mr. Pellissier reads several books aloud to my third grade class. This week Mr. P started reading the book, Shredderman. It is the adventure of Nolan Byrd and how he outsmarts the local bully named Bubba. This book offers thoughtful discussions and problem solving. CURRICULUM Language Arts This week we have worked on "tow-truck" letters o, w, and b. Writing these letters in isolation is simple enough, but combining them with other letters can be quite tricky. The "crank-up" changes the shape of the next letter and takes some practice. In language, we began working with nouns- people, places, and things. We are focusing on common nouns in the subject and predicate. Our new spelling unit uses words with short u sounds, spelled with u and o. Students used the dictionary in the back of their book to locate words and divide them into syllables. We will be using dictionary skills such as ABC order, syllabication, word meaning, parts of speech, and guide words throughout the year. We also worked with analogies, inferences, and context clues this week. Students are in the early process of writing Halloween stories. Today we generated ideas about the characters, setting, problem and events. Reading In chapter 6 from Minstrel In The Tower, Alice completes her journey to Bordeaux and finds Uncle Raimond's chateau. Without the lute for proof, Alice needs to find a way to convince him that she is his neice. Students are in the process of designing their own family shield representing personal interests. They will use thse shields as a starting point in a writing piece. Math In chapter 4 we are using subtraction with regrouping in the tens, hundreds, and thousands place. We are also using these skills to solve word problems. Rhymes such as " more on the floor... go next door, borrow some more. More on the top... no need to stop", help to remind students when they need to regroup. Many students are still using their fingers to add or subtract simple facts. Practicing at home with flashcards or online math games will help strengthen their basic facts and confidence. IXL- Students have been working with the online math program IXL to strengthen their math skills. This week, our class received a certificate stating that students in my class reached 1,000 problems as of October 10th ! Social Studies On Tuesday our mix-it-up groups painted their landforms. We are launching our cultural study of Mexico. On Friday we introduced an important holiday in Mexico, Days Of The Dead. Today, students brought home a packet with instructions about a very special project we will be doing both in class and in mix-it-up groups. They will be selecting a member of their family that is deceased to research. Students do not need to know or have met this person. They will interview family members to gather information and fill out an information sheet. They will also be constructing an altar in honor of this person and will need to bring in small objects to place on top of a shoebox size altar. Students will be doing a writing piece about this person in class. All of this is explained in the packet, so please read it over with your child. The information sheet, small objects, and shoebox are due on Monday Oct. 22. We will paint the altars and assemble the altars in class. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you to everyone who has returned the Hopes and Dreams questionaire about your child. If you still have your form, please try to return it by Friday October 19. I am looking forward to seeing everone at our student-led conferences, where we will be able to discuss common goals. I hope everyone has a great weekend! Sincerely, Gayle Dear Parents,
Over the weekend, Fred emerged from his crystalis. As you can see from the black dots near his body, he is a male. After lunch we went over the to the garden (where there are plenty of flowers for him to eat) and released Fred into the wild to begin his journey south to Mexico. Today we had a perfect fall day for our butterfly tagging program in Westport. It was a bit windy but there were an abundance of monarchs to tag. We caught and tagged a total of 25 butterflies- which is a third grade record! Everyone had the opportunity to net, tag and release several monarchs. See photos of our trip below. CURRICULUM Math This week we completed our chapter on addition with regrouping. Students also did challenging activities where they had to figure out missing digits in problems as well as two step word problems. Spelling Some skills that students worked on this week in completing unit 2 were working with consonant blends, patterns, and base words. Language As we continue working with sentences, students identified the four types of sentences ( statements, questions, command, exclamatory) and the correct punctuation. Using key words like who, what and when help to determine if it is a question. To help figure out other esentences we used the words in content. In handwriting we worked on cursive lower case letters k, r,and s. Reading Everyone knows the story of the Three Little Pigs, or do they? This week we read The True Story Of The Three Little Pigs from the perspective of the wolf. This very hilarious story gives the reader a new view of an old familiar story. In class, we talk about different perspectives and "two sides to each story". Minstrel In The Tower We started the week doing a Reader's Theater of chapters three and four. In chapter five, Roger and Alice devised a plan to escape from the tower and Simon and Odo. Each character used their special strength to make the plan work. Since Alice's talent is climbing, we took a mini field trip to the stone wall outside the office. There, students had a chance to find crevices to get toeholds to climb. Catch some of the students in action below. Social Studies In our mix-it-up groups we met as a group and watched a power point about landforms and bodies of water. Today each student created their own landform from Model Magic. They will be painted next week. BOF On Friday afternoon, Band of Friends met for the first time this year in the Commons. Third grade is an essential part of this program and we look forward to several performances throughout the year. I hope everyone enjoys the crisp fall weather over the long weekend. See you on Tuesday! Sincerely, Gayle Dear Parents,
The first month of school has flown by! During this month, students have been settling into classroom routines, learning about their classmates and themselves, and setting goals. Many of the activities we have done help them to reflect on who they are as a person. In class, we have read books by Jacqueline Woodson that focus on kindness and friendship. Throughout the year I will refer to the characters and events in these books as we explore topics such as inclusiveness, bullying, and other important social issues. This week was the Fifth Annual Character Day where people around the world look at character traits and how they make a difference. This week we discussed various character traits such as courage, honesty, and thoughtfulness, and they listed the ones that they thought represented themselves. We will continue this conversation throught the year as we delve into different themes in our literature. CURRICULUM Writing and Literature This week I read The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt. This very funny book is written from the perspective of a box of crayons. Then students chose an object from their desk and wrote their own perspective story in the voice of the object. They were quite funny and very creative. Using perspective in reading and writing, helps students to see different viewpoints. Another favorite book, The Pain and The Great One, by Judy Blume not only demonstates a brother/sister relationship, but also allows the reader to see different sides to a situation. Minstrel In The Tower We began the week doing Reader's Theater with chapters one and two. The two groups practiced with their scripts then performed for each other. The adventures continue in chapters three and four as Alice and Roger's quest to find Bordeaux leads them into some trouble. While exploring an ancient tower, they are kidnapped by some outlaws. We discussed eating game birds, such as quail and being a ragamuffin. Language This we focused on sentence structure and the use of subjects and predicates. Throughout the year we will continue to build on the various language skills and parts of speech. In handwriting this week, students worked on the lower case letters u, y, i, and j. Spelling In unit two we are focusing on short e and o words. Some concepts we worked on were definitions, ending sounds, analogies, synonyms and context clues. Math Students have been working on addition with regrouping in the ones, tens, and hundreds place in chapter three. We are also spending time solving word problems. When solving a word problem we look at the information given, key words, and what information they are asking. Social Studies Our mix it up groups continued with map skills, focusing on directions. Using a world map they followed specific directions to navigate around the continents and oceans. In class, we have been learning more about monarch butterflies, their life cycle, and physical traits. Please let me know if you are interested in coming on our field trip next Friday. All are welcome! This is a message from Jodi Pink: Saturday, October 20th: Farmers For America Screening and Panel with Local Food Tasting. Click here to learn more and register. In addition, the Northeast Organic Farming Association, NOFA, is offering a free gardening workshop, led by FA teacher Steve Walach, on campus prior to this event. You can click here to learn more about their workshop. Contact Steve Walach to register. Just a reminder to please return your Hopes and Dreams questionaire by Friday October 19th. Thank you to all who have sent them in already. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. The weather looks like typical fall days ahead! Sincerely, Gayle Dear Parents,
Welcome to the first newsletter of the year! It was very nice to see so many of you at Parents' Night. Our class is getting into routines of the beginning of the year. It has been an unusual schedule with days off, but we should be on a five day schedule which will help. Beginning next week, students will have homework Monday through Thursday nights. Homework assignments are designed to review and reinforce a skill learned in class. On Monday, students will also receive a Reading Log. Students are asked to read 20 minutes (or longer) each evening and write a short two sentence summary of what they read. There is also a frame for students to illustrate. The Reading Logs are due on Friday. As the year progresses, the format of the Reading Log will change as students tend to write longer summaries. CURRICULUM Each week I will give you a glimpse of what was covered in our curriculum in class. Reading Each day I try to read aloud literature books to the class. One of my favorite authors is Patricia Polacco. Many of her books are based on her real-life stories from her childhood and have important messages. In Thank You Mr. Falker, the book tells about a young girl named Trisha who struggles with the ability to read. After many years of pain and humiliation, a fifth grade teacher (Mr. Falker) realizes that she learns differently and helps Trisha to read. This prompted a conversation of how we all learn differently, have strengths, and learning goals. Students created their own "Learning Circles" highlighting their strengths in the center and goals on the learning edges. The three classes came together and shared their circles. Students found that they had many strengths and goals in common. Two other books we read together were, The Other Side and Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson. These books dealt with friendship and kindness, and breaking down barriers between people. Both books sparked interesting conversations and activities. This week we began a class novel titled Minstrel In The Tower. It is an exciting adventure that takes place in the French region of Europe in the year 1195. I doing this book, we will be doing oral reading, discussions, writing, and projects. Ask your child what "tatterdemalion" and "La Guenche" means. If families are looking for a special event, King Richard's Faire in Carver Mass. offers a taste of what life was like during this time period. Math We have completed our first unit on place value. Students worked with standard, expanded, and word form in numbers.They did comparing and ordering with numbers in the thousands place. Spelling Our class completed unit one in our Spelling Connections book. This is a literacy program that includes phonics, thinking, reading, writing, as well as spelling. In unit one we worked with short a and i words. Students used these words to do analogies, inferences, context clues, syllabication, and spelling patterns. Social Studies This week the third grade began to work in social studies groups. We divide all three classes into three equal groups that will meet twice a week. Throughout the year, these groups will be working together on various social studies projects. This gives students an opportuity to work cooperatively with members from the other classes. This week we started with map skills, including oceans, continents, countries, states, and directions. Fred Fred is our soon -to- be monarch butterfly in class. He has made his crystalis and will soon morph into a butterfly. The third grade will go on a field trip to the Lloyd Center for The Environment on Friday October 5th to participate in the Monarch Tagging Program. Parents are welcome to join us on this trip. We plan to leave Friends at 9:00 and return by 11:30. Our tagging will take place at Gooseberry Neck in Westport, Mass. Please let me know if you are interested in coming along. Our monarch program leads into our study of Mexico. Student led conferences Conferences are being held after school on Wednesday Oct. 24th and during the day on Thursday Oct. 25th. My schedule is posted in the third grade hallway. Please be sure to sign up. Reminders: School photo Day is Friday Sept. 28 Field trip on Friday Oct. 5 No school on Monday Oct. 8 Tuesday Oct. 9 is a Monday schedule at Friends I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Sincerely, Gayle |