Hello May!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

We hope you enjoyed your 3-day weekend! 

Please remember that this Thursday, May 7th, the third graders will be on a field trip from 9:30 to about noon. We will be walking over to Xavier College Preparatory for a play. If a student has hot lunch, it will be there when we return. Our lunch time will be slightly pushed back.

Have you heard your child say that they "Blended" at school? Or perhaps that they had "Blended Learning"? Over the past several weeks, the third graders have participated in a Blended Learning pilot program in both the areas of Reading and Math.  Blended Learning enabled us to create small groups for learning.  It also incorporated technology which really engaged the students, guided their learning, and insured that each student was learning at a level that is within their individual zone of proximal development -just right for where they are and where they are ready to go next. When students would "Blend", they would rotate between two to three rotations. The rotations would consist of teacher instruction, independent or partner practice, and exploration on the iPad - technology based activities. Although our piloted program has come to an end, we have found that the students are highly engaged during the Blender and are growing leaps and bounds. We will continue with this model until the end of the school year. 

To celebrate all of the students hard work last Friday, we had a "Blender" party, where students watched the videos they had previously created during the Reading Blender on Coral Reefs, and we had a special treat - smoothies! We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Mrs. Vallado, Ms. Milano, Mr. Russell, and Mr. Long for all of their guidance and support as we launched this new way of learning. 

Here are a few pictures from our Blender Party!!!!!

English Language Arts 



Spelling skill focuses on words in ending -er and -le. 
Grammar skill focuses on prepositions. 
Reading skill focuses on understanding characters. 

In two weeks, we will begin our book study on Donavan's Word Jar. Our class only has 16 copies of the book, so if your child would like their own, please consider purchasing it from Barnes and Nobel, Amazon, or Half Priced Books. ~Mrs. Ezell 

A gentle reminder, that your child's last book project is due Thursday, May 21st. 

Writing

Students will begin researching a famous scientist. Once they have gathered all of their information, they will begin the writing process. 

Science

The students will be finishing their unit on plants. 3A will create a study guide to help prepare them for their upcoming assessment.  3B completed their study guide and it was sent home with the students on Friday, May 1st.

Social Studies

If time permits, the students will begin learning about Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The students will discover the contributions from these two ancient civilizations which are still evident today. 

Math 

The students will begin their lessons in Geometry.

Religion

The students will begin their Benziger Family Life lessons.