Happy Weekend!

Thanks to everyone who came to Back To School Night to hear me ramble on about third grade and what a GREAT class I have! Here are some questions that were brought up that I want to address:
You must go through a volunteer training class to be able to help in the classroom or go on field trips. There are two options at this time - Sept. 13 6:00-7:00 pm - Sept. 15 9:30-10:30 am. As of right now, you only have to do the training once.

It was mentioned on the message from Mrs. Hollenbeck that all important papers will come home in a "Friday Folder". That is not true for my class. I send the folder home daily with papers in it. Please check it each day.

You were able to sign up for conferences. If you didn't make it Tuesday night, please call the office for available times.

Now - on to what we've been doing and what we WILL be doing:

Language Arts: We've been working with During Reading Strategies. We've made connections and used our sensory imagery. Next week we'll be working with Questioning. To practice this strategy we'll ask a question about a book we are going to read. During our reading, we'll adjust our questions according to what is happening in the story. This makes us THINK while we read.

Word Study: Our new focus this week will be words that have the /k/ sound at the beginning. There are patterns for this sound, and we'll be finding words that fit those patterns. Please practice these words every evening - even if they aren't given as homework.

Math: My math class continues to work with numbers in the ten's and hundred's. Your child should be able to take a number and 1)draw a picture, 2)write the words for it, 3)show it in expanded form, and 4)write the value of each of its digits. We're also really working with addition facts. Please read the note attached to your child's first math fact test.

Social Studies: This week we've been reading about laws and rules in different communities. Next week we'll be discussing rights and responsibilities. This is always an interesting topic with third graders! It seems they think a lot of things are their "right"!!!

Writing: Ask your child how to "funnel" an idea. This is when an idea is too broad of a topic to write about, like DOGS. When you put "dogs" in a funnel, what comes out should be a narrower topic, like How My Dog Plays Soccer With Me.

Other notes: your child may bring in a labeled water bottle that will be kept on the side counter. Please initial your child's agenda after checking his/her homework. Please check your child's Take Home folder daily. If your child is finishing up homework in fewer than thirty minutes, have him/her read or practice math facts!

Have a great weekend!
Faith Humerick