I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!
This week in Language Arts, we will be starting the story A Tree is Growing. This is a nonfiction text about trees and how they grow and change during their life cycle. The focus skill for this story will be identifying the author's purpose in a piece of writing. Students have already received Robust Vocabulary and spelling words that go with this story. Because of the short week this week, we will be having our spelling and reading tests next week.
In math, we will be finishing up our work on division. We will go over "divided by 10" through "divided by 12." Please keep up the great work practicing these facts at home! If the children are proficient in their multiplication facts, that will make division all the much easier.
We will be learning about Westward Expansion in Social Studies, which can be found in Unit 2, Lesson 3 of our Social Studies textbook. We will also be taking some time to continue to discuss Dr. Martin Luther King- both in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in preparation for our Patriotic play.
We will be working on Chapter 16 in religion, which discusses the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Mass. We will learn that the Mass is a sacrifice and a meal and that we must participate actively in the Mass when we attend. Our test on this chapter will be next week, again due to the short week.
A few reminders...
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break! We are jumping right back into action here in 3A...
This week in Language Arts, we will be covering the story Loved Best. This is a great story to read and discuss with your child, especially if "sibling rivalry" happens in your home at times! Students have already received spelling and vocabulary words that go with this story. We will be talking about the plot of a story and using this as a tool for comprehension. In grammar, we will be learning about possessive nouns. Our spelling test this week will be on Thursday, January 9 and our reading test will be Friday, January 10.
In math, we are full steam ahead with division! We will be covering division facts through "divided by 6." We will also be exploring what it means to divide into equal groups and making some real world application of division. Please take some time to review these facts with your child at home.
We have switched back to Social Studies and we are learning about communities from the past and how communities change. We have already covered Unit 2, Lesson 1 on different Native American communities as well as the community of English settlers at Jamestown. We will read Unit 2, Lesson 2 next, exploring how those English settlers became colonists and then declared indepedence from Great Britain.
We will be covering Chapter 12 in religion. We will learn that God calls each of us and that we all have a special vocation from God. We will learn about some of the different vocations in our Church and some ways that we can serve God no matter what our vocation might be. We will have our test on Chapter 12 on Friday, January 10.
A few notes...
Just a few notes for this busy week....
December is upon us! The children are certainly excited with Christmas so near on the horizon. I hope all of our SFCS families are taking some time to remember the meaning of the Advent season during this busy time of the year.
This week in Language Arts, we will be working on our review unit with the story "The Case of the Three Bears' Breakfast." We will also be taking some time to do some seasonal reading and writing activities. We will have our unit test on Reading Comprehension on Friday, December 13 and our unit test on grammar and writing the following Tuesday, December 17. We will be reviewing Robust Vocabulary and grammar concepts as well as reading comprehension skills for lessons 6 through 9, beginning with "The Babe and I" and continuing through "Stone Soup."
In math, we will finally finish up our times tables with the 12-times tables. We will then have a cumulative multiplication test on Friday, December 13. This will cover all multiplication facts from 0 through 12. Students will receive a study guide early this week, but the best thing to do is practice, practice, practice their basic facts!
We will continue on with Chapter 4, Lesson 3 in science. We will have a short quiz on this lesson on Wednesday, December 11. We will then move on to Chapter 4, Lesson 4, on how and why environments change.
In religion, we will be talking about Advent. We have a very exciting week liturgically this week...we will celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with Mass on December 9. This feast day is transferred from December 8 because December 8 is a Sunday this year. We will then celebrate our consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe on Thursday, December 12, with a prayer service in which we will join together with all the school students of our diocese!
A few notes...
I hope everyone is having an enjoyable, relaxing Thanksgiving break! Know that when I count my blessings, your children are among them :)
This week in Language Arts, we will be covering the story Stone Soup. This is a great story for this time of year...about how sharing makes us all richer! Isn't that the truth. Our focus skill for this story will be identifying the main idea and details in a text. Students have already received spelling and vocabulary words that go with this story. We will have a spelling test on Thursday, December 5 and a reading test on Friday, December 6.
In math, we will be continuing to work on our times tables. Please, please, please continue to practice these at home! It is essential for the rest of third grade, for fourth grade, and beyond, that your child can be as fluent as possible in these facts. We will have a quiz on 9, 10, and 11 times tables on Thursday, December 5.
In Science, we will be covering Chapter 4, Lesson 3, dealing with why living things compete and what this competition looks like in nature. Again, another opportunity for the children to share all they know and have learned about different types of animals!
Our religion chapter this week is Chapter 11, "The Parish is Our Home." We will learn about the role of a parish and the importance of all the individual members to help the parish to function! We will, of course, also be talking about the liturgical season of Advent and continuing to prepare for our consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe. As of now, I am planning on a religion test on Friday, December 6; however, this may change as the week unfolds...please stay tuned!
A few notes...
Just a few reminders for this short week!
I look forward to meeting with parents at conferences this Monday and Tuesday evenings. Please take a few minutes to review your child's report card prior to coming to conferences.
This Wednesday, November 27, is a 12 Noon dismissal. We also have a prayer service at 9 AM. Please join us if you are able! This exciting day also holds a Pep rally for the students. Students should wear their gym uniforms to school that day.
There is no school Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29. Happy Thanksgiving!
Autumn is definitely here...some days it has been feeling like winter! Please be sure your child has a winter coat when they come to school on these chilly days!
This week in Language Arts, we will be covering the story How Animals Talk. We will focus on identifying the main idea and the supporting details in a story. Students received Robust Vocab and spelling words this past Friday. We will have our spelling test on Thursday, November 21 and our reading test on Friday, November 22.
In math, we will continue to move forward with multiplication! We will have a quiz on the 6, 7 and 8 times tables on Wednesday. Hopefully, will have learned all our times tables by Thanksgiving and then will just be practicing to master them! Keep on practicing these facts at home.
In science, we will be finishing up Chapter 4, Lesson 2 on energy in a food web. We will then move into Chapter 4, Lesson 3, on competition between living things. The students are really enjoying all these little glances into the animal kingdom! They certainly have lots of stories to share.
We will be covering Chapter 10 in Religion, "The Church Prays." We will start by learning about the prayer taught to us by Jesus, the Lord's Prayer, and then we will learn about some different kinds of prayer. Our religion test this week will be on Friday, November 22.
A few reminders...
Welcome to the second marking period! Report cards will be available on Powerschool early next week. Please take a moment to check out your child's grades before Parent-Teacher conferences later this month.
This week in Language Arts, we will be working with the story Aero and Officer Mike. We will continue with the focus skill of fact and opinion. Students have already received both spelling and vocabulary words that go with this story. In grammar, we will be talking about nouns, with a focus on common and proper nouns. We will have a spelling test and a reading test on Thursday, November 14.
In math, we will continue to work on multiplication. The children did a great job on the multiplication test we had this past Friday! This week, we will be working on the 6, 7, and 8 times tables. We will have a quiz on Friday, November 15 on the 6s and 7s facts.
We are switching back to science! We will be covering Chapter 4, Lesson 1 this week. We will learn about ways that living things interact...focusing on how they can help each other. We will then move on to Lesson 2, which focuses on how living things get energy.
In religion, we will be covering Chapter 9, "The Church Teaches Us." We will learn that the Church is the Body of Christ and the People of God, and that it is the Holy Spirit who guides and teaches us. Our test on this chapter will be on Friday, November 15. We will also be continuing to pray and learn about Mary through our Consecration prayers and reflections.
A few reminders...
Wow! It is November already! 3A had an awesome Halloween party (thanks to all the class parents and all parents who helped in any way) and we enjoyed a beautiful school Mass on Friday in honor of All Saints Day.
This week in reading, we will be finishing up the story The Babe and I. We will have both spelling and reading tests on Tuesday, November 5. Don't forget to review our focus skill, facts and opinions, at home when you are studying! After our spelling and reading tests, we will get our new Robust Vocab and spelling words that go along with the next story, Aero and Officer Mike. This is a nonfiction story, and we will also be focusing on identifying facts and opinions in this story.
In math, we will continue to work on multiplication! We will have a short quiz on 4s and 5s times tables on Wednesday, and on Friday we will have our first test on multiplication. Students should know the rules of multiplying by 0 and 1, and also know their times tables from 2 through 5. They should also be able to show multiplication by equal groups and drawing arrays. We will of course be practicing all these skills in class throughout the week.
In religion, we will be finishing up Chapter 8 on the Four Marks of the Church, and our test on this chapter will be on Wednesday. We will then begin Chapter 9, "The Church Teaches Us." In this chapter, students will explore some different ways the Church teaches us, including things like the Apostles' Creed and the Holy Spirit. We will also take some time to explore some of the Saints of our Church throughout the week.
I really enjoyed checking out the students' Social Studies projects on different communities! This week we will be finishing up talking about natural resources and moving on to Unit 1, Lesson 5 on ways people interact and change the environment- either for positive or negative reasons. We will talk about how we all have the responsibility to help protect our environment.
A few reminders...
Have a great weekend! God bless!