O c t o b e r 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 2

Third Grade Scoop

Terrif ic Third Grade

We are moving into the 2nd marking period and students will be focusing on many new topics. Please make sure your child is reading every day at home and studying their basic math facts. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for your parent teacher conference. Please be on time and contact your child’s teacher if there is a conflict. Also if you have not joined the PTA, please consider joining. This is a great partnership between the school community and families.

This month we will discuss our favorite holidays….

Mr. Lichvar-Memorial Day Ms. Miler-New Year’s

Ms. Simpson-Christmas

Hope this information has helped you get to know a little bit more about the

third grade

team.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Nov. 5- PTA meeting, 7:00 pm, Media Center

Nov. 7- Principal’s Tea, 8:30-9:30 am, Rm. 22

Nov. 8- Family Fun Night, 6:00 pm, Blake H.S.

Nov. 12 Report cards distributed

Nov. 19 Picture make-ups

Nov. 21 Shark Bites Breakfast, 9:00-9:30 am,

APR

DAYS OFF

♦ November 4th Election Day

♦ November 10th

and 11th both are early release

(12:35 pm) for conferences

♦ November 26th

early release (12:35 pm)

(Thanksgiving Break) ♦ November 27th

and 28th (Thanksgiving Break)

Here’s the Scoop on the Third Grade Classes

Halloween Edition

The Third Grade Team would like to thank all of the families who attended the Halloween Party and contributed to the classroom parties/celebration fund for the year. Your support and help is greatly appreciated by all the teachers. The students loved their snacks, and all the activities and a chance to have some fun with their classmates. As a third grade team, we would also like to thank all the parent volunteers that have come in to copy, file, work with students, etc. We value and appreciate the support immensely. Please continue to help your child with his/her homework at home. Homework helps to reinforce the concepts that your child is learning in school. The more practice they have, the better they will understand the concepts that are taught in school.

P r inc ipa l : L inda M. Jones Ass i s tant Pr inc ipa l : Jenn i fer A . T i l l

S to ne g a te

Ele me nta ry S c ho o l 14811 Notle y Rd. Silve r Spr ing, MD

20905 P ho ne

(301) 989- 5668

During October students continued to learn about services provided by local businesses vs. government and how taxes affect the services provided. We also discussed how goods and services were different during the ancient Rome time period. Students looked at the different cultural needs and how that affected the goods, services and currency of that time.

Reading

“Children are one third of our population and

all of our future.”

~ Promotion of

Child Health, 1981

A Look Back at Our Last Month

• Cause & Effect • Questions before, during and after

reading • Authors/key message • Main idea (non-fiction and fiction) • Making inferences • Comparing and contrasting different

texts about the same topic • Text Features

The teachers in third grade have begun to work with guided reading groups. These groups are comprised of students at the same reading level. These are small groups of students with no more than eight students at a time. This allows for one-on-one time with the teacher and extra practice with the skills that are needed to become a successful reader. This is also an opportunity for students to work on their comprehension (oral and written) and to learn new vocabulary.

Writ ing The students in third grade have been using the writing process to write about a variety of topics. For example, animals, opinions, common good problems/solutions and how smoking is a bad habit. The students have used a variety of resources (internet, articles, etc.) to research and produce their final projects. The students are also worked on writing commitment and claim statements using vocabulary and reasons/support/facts.

The third grade students have all been working very hard this month on learning their basic multiplication facts and a variety of other topics. Here are some concepts we worked on: • Area & Perimeter • Multiplication & strategies • Fact Families • Division & strategies • Multi-step word/story problems Please continue to practice basic facts and these skills to help students retain them. We have also begun to use the Drexel Math Forum word problems as one of the ways to challenge and develop critical thinking skills in students. They are enjoying the challenge!

Math

Science Students have continued learning about force, motion, friction and speed this month by conducting a variety of experiments. Students have been completing multiples trials of experiments and even built a simple vehicle and designed a tire by using the elementary design process. The students enjoyed discussing how the different variable would affect the speed and distance that their vehicles would travel.

Social Studies