Winding down…!
It’s hard to believe we’re beginning to wind down the school year! We have a countdown of days written on the board and the kids excitedly change the number each morning. As of today, we have only 22 more instructional days together in third grade. There is still a lot of work to get finished, so we’re not slowing down YET!
ELA– Third graders are researching and writing persuasive five paragraph essays about chosen topics over the next two weeks. The ultimate goal is to present the essay to the class and convince the majority of the students to agree with your point of view. Students were given a choice of 9 topics to argue for/against. Some of the popular topics are school uniforms, strictly enforced bedtimes, class pets, no homework/no TV, and many more! Once finished, the typed final copy of their persuasive essay will go home. Ask your child to read it aloud and convince YOU!
Math– The unit on measurement is almost complete, which will then lead us into the final unit of Probability. One topic your child should continue to work on is multiplication. The basic multiplication facts should be internalized by this point in the year. If they are still having trouble, consider making flashcards and quizzing them for just a couple minutes each night. There are also many free apps that target multiplication. One that I like is ‘Sushi Monster’ – it’s very simple; kids must drag the correct factors to the ‘monster’ who is wearing a sign with the product. The more they practice, the better prepared they will be for 4th grade!
Science– We are learning about the solar system! We started with learning basics about the Sun, Moon and Earth. The order of the planets to the sun was learned through a fun art project and you can see pictures of their work on Instagram. There is an amazing documentary called ‘A Year in Space’ about NASA astronaut Scott Kelly who spent a year on the International Space Station and we’ve watched about 10 minutes each day. The kids are fascinated and engaged. This week, we’ll be learning more about the phases of the moon (and using Oreos to show the phases..yum) and using the engineering process to construct a lunar module that can be dropped form a certain height to land upright without breaking an egg placed inside.
Spelling– You may have noticed that your child had to write 3 complete sentences on last week’s spelling test. This week, they’ll need to add one more. The more they write, the better their writing becomes! Not only do I want them to write for the simple practice, but I want them to show their understanding of word meanings which can be easily done with a sentence.
Cursive– There is a handful of students who have still not completed their cursive handwriting. You will see the handwriting book coming home nightly beginning today, as it should be compete by this point in the year.
Dates to remember:
Monday and Tuesday, May 13th and 14th- Wrap Writing Assessment
Thursday, May 23- Lag B’omer
Friday, May 24- noon dismissal
Wednesday, June 5- Last day of school
