| From the Teacher's Desk | | Dear Parents,
Where did October go? We have been so busy in third grade that it’s difficult to believe the month is over. The children have worked hard and deserve a big pat on the back. We would also like to say thank you to all the parents who treated our children to a wonderful Halloween party. The food and treats were awesome!
November is a time to be thankful for having a wonderful group of children to teach and inspire. We’re also thankful for being a part of an excellent school like Barnesville with parents who truly support our mission.
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| Writer's Corner | | We are putting the final touches on the rough drafts for our “haunted house” descriptive paragraphs. We are composing these paragraphs using haunted houses we created from paper bags and a scary yard using both found and store-bought items. The children will continue to use this spooky setting, a 4-Square organizer, and nouns, adjectives, and exact verbs generated through brainstorming, to further develop their paragraphs describing the house and its scene. The students will then challenge the fourth graders to find their houses based on their written descriptions.
Using a similar process, they will soon write descriptive paragraphs about their paper dolls in social studies. | |
| Math, Math, and More Math | | Our focus at this time is on number stories. The students are engaged in the skills of organizing information and then determining which operation will provide the solution. We expect each number story to contain a number model and the correct answer with the appropriate unit (label). Mastery of basic math facts is essential at this time because we are solving multi-digit problems with addition and subtraction.
Our next unit is linear measurement. The children will explore the need for standard units of measure as they review the U.S. Customary and metric units of length. Practice measuring and reading a ruler to the nearest 1/4 inch as well as to the nearest half centimeter will keep them busy during this next unit. The students will also measure diameters and circumferences of circular objects as they develop the "about 3 times" rule relating the circumference and diameter of any circle.
Does your child need more help with basic addition and subtraction facts? Do you want to get a head start on multiplication and division? Continue working in First in Math and try this helpful website that Kelly Valenta shared at Back to School Night. | |
| Where in the World Is...? | | Social Studies is a favorite time of day for many of the students. They did an outstanding job learning the many facts and information about Our World for their first big unit test. We were extremely proud of their efforts. We will continue practicing map skills, focusing on cardinal and intermediate directions as we move towards the study of the amazing and diverse continent of Africa.
Our first research project has begun! The students have chosen a country. | |
| Science | | The third graders spent the month of October learning about the changes in the Earth's surface. The focus was on the planet’s layers, the landforms, and the materials of the Earth. The students discussed how water, wind, volcanoes and earthquakes change the Earth, how volcanoes form, and how scientists study volcanoes and earthquakes. The students learned about some landforms in North America, made models of volcanoes and land features, and examined different kinds of rocks. The students will continue Earth study in November and learn more about the materials that come from Earth and the relationship between the Earth, Moon, and Sun. | |
| Spanish | | Third grade still has “MEXICO” as their main country of study. Students are learning about punctuation in Spanish, greetings and ways of saying goodbye. Students will learn basic adjectives to describe places. | |
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| | Upcoming Events | | November
10: 1:30 Dismissal
11: Veteran's Day Ceremony
16: Admissions Open House
18: After-School Activities Session I Ends
23: Grandparents Day; Noon Dismissal
24-25: Thanksgiving Holiday
28: No School for Students
30: Picture Make-up Day | |
| Third Grade Art | | The third graders completed and shared their imaginary culture books with one another. We then learned about one of the very first cultures; we looked at the Lascaux cave paintings. We created our own renditions of the animals found on the cave walls. We will learn about the oldest existing culture on earth, the Australian Aboriginees who have been in existence for at least 40,00 years. The children will learn about their styles of Dream painting and X-ray painting. | |
| Extra! Extra! Extra! Read All About It! | | The children are actively engaged in our Adventure theme. They are practicing many reading and comprehension skills including inferences, cause and effect, summarizing, and sequencing, and they will soon be ready for the next challenge. Our new theme will coincide beautifully with our upcoming Grandparents’ Day, which honors many family members and friends. In Celebrating Traditions, the children will have the opportunity to sharpen and apply their interpretive skills while acknowledging and celebrating families and their histories.
The mystery book reports were awesome! The students were so excited to share their mysteries with their classmates at The Mystery Café, while drinking hot cocoa and munching on yummy cookies. This month the students will choose their favorite picture book to read to the class. It is important to practice reading their book at home. This reading activity is a wonderful time for the children to strengthen their oral presentation skills and also to share the joy of picture books. There will be no formal book report for the months of November or December. All our activities will be completed in school. | |
| Physical Education | | David Martin, PE Teacher
The students are being introduced to lifetime fitness activities and exercises. We will discuss healthy eating and lifestyle habits too. This includes cardiovascular fitness, strength training and disease prevention. We will begin a soccer unit which will focus on skill development, dribbling, body coordination, teamwork, and offensive and defensive strategies. Their grades are comprised of the following: gross motor skills and daily personal performance (skill, listening and following directions, and sportsmanship). | |
| Music | | The students in Grade Three have continued to listen to the sounds of Medieval music; this has naturally led to an introduction to the languages of Middle English and Latin! We celebrated Halloween in musical ways, including rhythmic stirring of the "Creepy Brew" for a Halloween creature who needed help with cooking! They are learning a soldier song or two for Veteran's Day, a Thanksgiving song, and an Autumn song, and songs for singing especially to their grandparents (thinking ahead to Grandparents Day coming up here at Barnesville School).
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