Happy 'almost' Easter!

Happy Monday Third Grade Families,

Please remember that this week is a 
3 and a half day school week. On Thursday, April 2nd, dismissal is at 12:25pm. There is no aftercare on this day. 

We hope that you all have a joyous Easter and a relaxing break! We will see you all back at school on Monday, April 13th. 

ELA 

We will continue with activities that go along with our story from last week on Mount Everest.

Reminder:  The students monthly book reports are due on Tuesday, March 31st.

Spelling words will consist of Easter themed words.
There will be a spelling test on Thursday, April 2nd.

Grammar will focus on a variety of review skills.

We will be working on a short writing piece this week that goes along with our reading program.

Social Studies 

Students will be finishing up their unit on Ellis Island.

Religion 

Students will continue to work in their Lenten Journals daily.

Math  
The students will begin learning about equivalent fractions this week.

Spring is here!

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of March, Spring is here, and Easter is just two weeks away! Where has this school year gone?

We have a fun start to begin our school week with Field Day on Monday.

We will have our regular spelling pretest on Tuesday with a follow up assessment on Friday.

ELA



Spelling skill focuses on suffixes -less and -ness..
Grammar skill focuses on words that compare.
Reading skill focuses on text and graphic feature.

Social Studies and Writing
Students are putting the finishing touches on their "Journey to America" narratives.

Religion
Students are working in their Lenten Journals and finishing up the Stations of the Cross in preparation for the live Stations on Friday, March 27th.

Math
The students will continue to work in the area of fractions.  This week will focus on comparing and ordering fractions.  Please have your child continue their work on Dreambox, 3 times a week in 15 minute sessions.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top of the Morning to Ya!

We hope you all enjoyed your extra long week. We are just three short weeks away from our Easter break. So, lets keep our kiddos motivated to continue working hard in the classroom. 

Last week, the third quarter ended and student report cards will be available for viewing this Friday, March 20th. 

ELA

This week, there is no ELA wall as students will be using a different supplement for reading classes. Students will be reading informational text and focusing on identifying the main idea and supporting details.

Spelling words will consist of St. Patrick's themed words, as well as, Social Studies (Ellis Island) themed words.

Grammar will continue to focus on simple, compound, and complex sentences.

Social Studies and Writing

We will continue to work on our rough drafts of Our Journey to America narratives.

Religion

We are working through the Stations of the Cross and our Lenten Journals.

Math

The students will complete their lessons on bar models. and we will proceed in our study of fractions.

A 4 day weekend lies ahead of us!

Happy Monday Families,

What gorgeous weather we had this past weekend! We hope you and your families were able to spend some quality time together. These next two weeks are 4-day school weeks! There is no school, Friday, March 13th and no school, Monday, March 16th. Enjoy the extra long weekend with your family!

ELA 



Spelling skills focuses on prefixes re and un.
Grammar skill focuses on complex sentences.
Reading skill focuses on author's purpose.

**Please note we will be having our spelling test on Thursday, March 12th. **

Social Studies and Writing

Last week, we started our unit on Ellis Island and Angel Island.  Both classes experienced a webquest that gives an interactive tour of Ellis Island. We will continue to discuss the long journey that many immigrants traveled in order to come to the United States.  The students will also understand the reasons behind many people choosing to leave their home countries to travel to America.

Monday, we will partner with the 8th graders to begin our "Immigration" writing project. Students will work together to create a piece of historical fiction.  Their writing pieces will tell a narrative of their fictional character's journey to the U.S.

Religion 

Students will be learning about the Stations of the Cross. We will continue these lessons until we attend the live Stations, which will be presented by the 4th graders on Friday, March 27th.

Remember to continue your conversations as a family about what Lent means and how we are preparing for Jesus' death and resurrection. Also, please continue to fill those rice bowls. They will be collected at Pledge and Prayer on Thursday, April 2nd.

Math
The students have been working on creating bar models in order to solve story problems.  Also, the students have begun their lessons on fractions.  Please have your child visit "Dreambox" 3 times a week for 15 minute sessions.  Also, here is a free "app" to assist your child in practicing and learning fractions:

• Grade 3 Z Math Fractions

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. -Dr. Seuss

The above quote is so true for our third graders. As we near the end of the third quarter and enter into the final quarter of school, it is imperative that your child read every night for 20 to 30 minutes. It will greatly help your child if they read out loud to you as well. We see the most growth from the Fall to Spring in our students that read every night.

March Book Reports will be going home this week. Please know that they will be due on Tuesday, March 31st.

Has your student told you about a new program we are piloting in 3^rd grade reading and math called – “The Blender”?  We are excited to announce this student-centered model that combines face-to-face learning with online learning – a.k.a. blended learning.  For our particular application, students are divided into flexible groups based on what they are ready to learn next and they rotate through 3 centers for both math and reading.  The centers include a teacher facilitated station, an independent or partner work station and a tech station.  This model enables us to leverage the small groups and technology to engage students and guide learning at a level that is within students' zone of proximal development – just right for where they are to improve student learning.  We started the pilot last Thursday with the math class and will include reading this week.  We look forward to reporting back to you on our progress with this program!

ELA 



Spelling skill focuses on suffixes -ful, -ly, and -er.
Grammar skill focuses on possessive nouns and pronouns.
Reading skill focuses on sequence of events.

All third grade students, were given a tutorial and directions on how to access Quizlet.com. Quizlet is used for vocabulary practice. There is no log in and password necessary to access the activities. The students should visit this website twice a week for practice.

Social Studies
Last week, the 3A students finished their President Research reports, and they all did such a great job!
The 3B students will put the finishing touches on their reports this week.

We finished our lessons on Black History Month and the Civil War. As we move into March, we will begin our unit on Ellis Island and Angel Island. We will be partnering with the 8th grade class to assist us with our lessons and writing project.

Religion 
We will continue work in our Lenten Journals.

Math
The students will begin their math lessons on fractions.