Kanwisher's Kids

Jumping January

Welcome to 2012, and a Happy New Year. I hope that everyone enjoyed the Break.It sounds like many students had fun with trips to Orlando,Disney World, St.Louis, and visits from relatives. I had a wonderful break sitting at the pool and rafting on the lazy river.

I wanted to give a big thanks to Mrs.Khant and the "Kraff family" for the wonderful Holiday party.The party was really fun! The students loved their snack mix,and doughnuts, the games were fun . It was so nice to meet all of the grandparents that attended.My children loved to have my parents visit their classroom and it is a memory that they treasure and talk about today! I enjoyed the party and the wonderful gift card tree,and I am still having fun shopping with the cards.

Our curriculim this nine weeks is as follows:

Math

We will begin with fractions and then move to measurement. If your student has not learned all their math facts. Please encourage them to go on IXl , use flash cards, and play multiplication games. We will be teaching long division later in the year and these students start at a disadvantage ,not learning their facts.

Science

We are studying the plants and animals that live and grow in the regions of Georgia. We will also study the adaptations that allow these animals and plants survival. this is a very fun unit.Ask your student about Piedmont Crayfish and Mussels.

Social Studies

We are studying the following  three historical figures: Franklin  D.Roosevelt, Mary Bethune, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Decidely Busy December

 
I can not believe that it is already December! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break. I had a wonderful week with my family.This week flew by. I hope that you all received your childs ITBS scores as they were sent home on Friday December 2,2011.

Curriculum

We will be studying geometry over the next few weeks,although the students must memorize their multiplication facts. Some are doing well,but others need to make  more of an  effort. I appreciate all the parent help with this effort. In geometry we wll study plane fiqures,different types of triangles, lines, angles ,and rays.

Reading: Guided Reading Groups: Biographies on Historical Figures (Paul Revere, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony)

Spelling: Sort 15,16, and 17

Social studies: American Historical Figures (Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Geographical Features in the United States, Natural Resources)

Science: Our Science test on soil will be on Friday December 9,2011 The students should study the study guide and all the information in their science folder.

Calendar:

Our Holiday Party is at 9:30 -10:30 on Thursday December 22,2011.

We will be visiting the media center to checkout books On: December 9, 16, 22 , 2011 at 1:00-1:30

 

It's time to order your winter spirit wear! This year we will be selling long sleeve poly/spandex "performance" t-shirts and zip-up hoodie jackets. Color pictures of each item are included on the order form. This will be the last spirit wear order for the school year, so please make sure to get your orders in by the due date-Monday November 28th. The winter spirit wear is only available by pre-order, so please make sure to order the correct sizes. Samples will be available for sizing in the school store until the order has been placed. The short sleeve blue tie-dye t-shirts are also available for order on the winter order form. Please make all checks payable to Mountain View PTA. All orders will be sent to your child's classroom by the middle of December. If you have any questions, please contact Beth Warchol or Cathy Berman.

November 8th Student Holiday

November 21st-25th Thanksgiving Holidays

Nifty November
It is that time of year. The leaves are turning color and the air is crisp and clear. The students are turning into busy third grade students and their minds are crisp and clear. It is a beautiful month,with lots to be thankful for. I really enjoyed meeting you at conferences, and look forward to seeing more of you during math centers and at the Thanksgiving Feast on November 11,2011.
What will we be studying this month?
MULTIPLICATION ON MY MIND
How to Memorize Multiplication Facts



Memorizing the multiplication facts is easier if it is done systematically. You do not have to go in order, but rather work efficiently.

Things You'll Need:

flash cards

multiplication facts table



Step One Look at your facts table. Go ahead and cross off the 1s column and row. The easiest rule is that any number time one is itself. This means that even someone just starting already knows 10 facts.



Step Two Now, look at the repeating patterns. 3 times 7 is the same as 7 times 3. This is the commutative property, but some books call it a turn-around rule. Basically, it means that you don't have to memorize all the facts, just half of them. So, cross off the matching facts.



Step Three The 2s, 5s, and 10s should be next on your list. All of these follow easy-to-memorize patterns that students have been practicing since first grade. Next, focus on the 3s and 4s. Although the patterns here aren't quite as obvious, the smaller numbers are comfortable for most students.



Step Four The 9s are easier then most people realize. The secret is in your hands. Hold down the finger that matches the factor you are using. For example, if you are completing 9 times 4, hold down your fourth finger. There are three fingers to the left (3 tens) and 6 fingers to the right (6 ones). Therefore, 9 times 4 is 36.



Step Five This leaves the 6s, 7s, and 8s. In the 8s, the tens (usually) increases by 1 while the ones decrease by 2. For example, 2 times 8 is 16, while 3 times 8 is 24 (1 + 1 = 2 and 6 - 2 = 4). For the most part, the 6s and 7s just need to be memorized through strict repetition or catchy phrases or rhymes.
SCIENCE
We will be learning about weathering ,and erosion, and soil.I never realized how important soil is to our existence until I began to teach about soil.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We will learn about he life,times, and character traits of Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas , and Mary McCloud Bethune.
Language Arts
Wew ill write a response to literature, learn strategies, and skills in guided reading ,continue with dictionary skills, and learn the four types of sentences,as well as how to connect sentences.
A few reminders:
Our candy collection began today.
We are still collecting canned goods for the pantry
Please send in the field trip permission slip if you have not sent it in already.
Thank you for all the wonderful new additions to our classroom library. I am going to read some aloud to the class. Please keep up with your students Book BIngo . I really believe that the best way to make a lifelong reader is to allow the studets time and present them with a variety of good books to read .Please encourage them to have a Bingo Book at home and one in the classroom.
Enjoy the beautiful weather and these nice sunny days.

Parents please go to the following sites in order for your students to practice some of the skills that we are practicing in school.www.Ixl.com and www.skillstutor.com

October 15,2011
We are finished with all of our testing and the students really were troopers! They tried their very best and perservered. I look forward to getting back to our routine this coming week.
I wanted to thank you for my wonderful birthday celebration and gifts last week.I felt really special with cupcakes,flowers, candy, and a wonderful gift certificate to Aspens. Thank you fou your kindness!
I would also like to thank everyone who signed up to help with math centers.The students love to work with a parent and it reallly helps to have an extra teacher!
This coming week we are having two test one on fossiks ,and one on health.Please make sure that your chikd studies a little ibit each evening. They have vocabulary flashcards and study guides for both. The assessments will be on Friday.

Falling into October

Important Dates:

October 5-7- Cogat Testing

October 10-14- ITBS Testing

Rock n' Roll News:

 Testing begins this week! On Wednesday we will start the CogAT, Cognitive Abilities Test, which assesses students’ abilities in reasoning and problem solving using verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal (spatial) symbols. This will only take about 30 minutes a day and will be done first thing in the morning. 

  Next week the kids will take the ITBS, Iowa Test of Basic Skills,
 which  assesses students knowledge in the major content areas. This test
 lasts about an hour each day. You can help your child by making sure they go to bed early every night, feeding them a healthy breakfast, and having them here on time.  We will have not have homework this week .

What’s Rockin’ This Week:

 Math- Elapsed Time, multiplication facts x2, addition and subtraction, and input -output

Science- Fossils

·Reading- Writing- Revising and Editing summaries focusing on topic sentences and closing sentences

Social Studies- Government

Writing The students are editing summaries .They are focusing on topic sentence and concluding sentences.

Thanks Go Out To:

All the parents that sent in goodies for our Greek festival, and for supporting the Fun Run.

September 14,2011

September

Thank you for your support of this year’s Boosterthon Fun Run! The students are having a blast learning about TEAMWORK through the EPIC ADVENTURE theme!  So far this week, the Booster team has shared how important it is to ENCOURAGE others around us by making others stronger with our words.

We have been working on place value in math.  The class has written numbers in standard form (3225), expanded form (3000+200+20+5), word form (three thousand two hundred twenty five) and picture form (drawing cubes for the thousands, boxes for the hundreds, sticks as tens and a small x for each one.)  We have been practicing rounding. We will be move on to addition and subtraction with and without regrouping. We will use front end estimation and mental math strategies too!

We will conclude our study of ancient Greece and its influence on our architecture and government with an assessment next week.  the students will attend a Greek Festival on Tuesday and have a summative assessment on Friday September 23,2011.

We will have a summative assessment on rocks and minerals on September 30,2011. The students have been comparing rocks and minerals.They are learning the difference between the two.They have been scientists using their skills to determine the streak color,texture,shape,luster, and hardness of rocks. The "scientists" made igneous,matamorphic, and sedementary rock out of Starburst.
They also created arock using one or more minerals.

Here are some tips to help you start learning multiplication. 3's rhythm snap fingers 4's row row your boat tune 6's barney tune 7's are you sleeping tune 8's http://freesongsforkids.com/math -- Look here for songs to help you learn multiplication!

Third Grade Curriculum Year long Curriculum

 

Reading

1^st Nine Weeks- Becoming a Great Reader

2^nd Nine Weeks- Understanding How Stories Work

3^rd Nine Weeks- Reading to Learn

4^th Nine Weeks- Thinking Critically About Books

Writing

1^st Nine Weeks- Personal Narratives

2^nd Nine Weeks- Response to Literature

3^rd Nine Weeks- Informational Writing

4^th Nine Weeks- Persuasive Writing

Math

1^st Nine Weeks- Numbers to 1,000, Addition and Subtraction, Making Change, Elapsed Time, Data Analysis

2^nd Nine Weeks- Multiplication, Division, Elapsed Time, Making Change, Data Analysis, Geometric Figures

3^rd Nine Weeks- Fractions and Decimals, Adding/Subtracting Fractions, Length, Area, and Perimeter, Elapsed Time, Counting Change

4^th Nine Weeks- Extended Mulitplication and Division, CRCT review, Relative Size of Numbers, Elapsed Time, Data Analysis

Social Studies

1^st Nine Weeks- Democracy, Economy

2^nd Nine Weeks- Paul Revere, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony

3^rd Nine Weeks- Mary McLeod Bethune, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt

4^th Nine Weeks- Thurgood Marshall, Lyndon B. Johnson, Caesar Chavez, Review for CRCT

Science

1^st Nine Weeks- Rocks and Minerals, Soil

2^nd Nine Weeks- Soil, Fossils, Georgia Habitats and Organisms

3^rd Nine Weeks- Georgia Habitats and Organisms, Animal Adaptations, Magnets

4^th Nine Weeks- Heat, Conservation and Recycling, Review for CRCT

wish list

Several parents have asked for a wish list at this point in time the class needs:

playground balls, and jump ropes

Tape dispenser refill rolls (for office type scotch tape dispensers)

$.20 Composition folders on sale at Target

Important Information for 2011 - 2012:

Students may not be dropped off in car pool until 7:20 AM.

Spectacular September
I would like to begin with a big thank you to all the parents who attended curriculum night. I enjoyed talking to you and I appreciate your flexibiltiy with the scheduling of curriculum night. As I stated at curriculum night this is going to be a great year. The students are enthusiastic about learning.
Our daily schedule involves whole group instruction, math stations, literacy stations, science ,writing, grammar, and social studies.