Dear
Families of Room 23,
I
hope you all had a wonderful break last week. I sure did, but it’s always
wonderful to be back with my students…the show must go on!
Here
are a couple of quick reminders:
1. Our class is responsible for
Car Line during the weeks of 11/26
(this week!), 12/3, and 12/10. Volunteer time is 25 minutes per time slot. There
are still several spots available for those of you who are able to volunteer.
This is a very important job that’s essential to keeping our students safe. Thank
you to those of you who have already signed-up. Car Line Sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c094ba4af29ab9-3rdgrade
2. The Winter Chorus Concert is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11 from
12:40-1:10 in the multipurpose room. 3rd and 4th grade
parents are invited to attend this special event. We hope to see you there!
3. The Book Fair begins on Monday of next week and runs through
Thursday. Daily hours are 8:00-4:00, ending with the Book Fair Café on
Thursday, December 6.
4. With the holiday season in
full swing, I have discussed a specific community service activity with my
class. It involves collecting sample size
toiletries to donate to the Ritter House in San Rafael. They provide a
shower for homeless men and women who will benefit from using these supplies.
Please look under your sink to see if you have anything hiding from a past
trip. We will collect and then bag items into individual give-away bags to
donate. Ideally each bag will include shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and a
toothbrush. Please don’t feel any pressure to go out and purchase items. We
will take what we can get and make sure it is put to good use. Thank you!
5. We had a class discussion on
Monday regarding technology use,
specifically in regards to Google Drive. Students were reminded of the following
agreement sent home and signed at the beginning of the year. Students were
asked to “clean-up” their Google drive of anything that was not school related.
The third-grade team appreciates your support in reinforcing this at home.
a. The MVSD Google account is NOT
private. It is a learning tool and teachers can view everything that is
happening in Google Drive.
b. Use of Google Docs is for
classroom assignments only – not for personal use.
c. Documents can only be shared
with your teacher, unless a collaborative project is assigned and specific
directions are given.
Phew!
It’s hard to believe that this weekend marks the first of December. Wow! We’ll
be very busy over the next several weeks leading up to Winter Break. Please
read below for details and as always, please let me know if you have any
questions.
Regards,
Teresa
Shern
Reading: Our Character Studies unit continues.
We are exploring getting to know a character as a friend, following a
character’s journey, and comparing and contrasting ideas across books. Because
of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo is the mentor text for this unit. We also began
a new read aloud titled Quinny and Hopper, by Adriana Brad Schanen.
Writing: Students are editing and
revising their poetry, then typing the poems for illustration and “publication”
in their own poetry books. Additionally, we will be doing nonfiction writing,
integrated with our social studies unit, where students will choose a winter
holiday to research and write about (see below for more information).
Social Studies: We will begin a unit this
week studying different holiday traditions. This unit is designed to be
high-interest nonfiction where students practice examining, learning to read,
and learning from, a variety of nonfiction texts. We will also learn where
traditions originated from, tying in a global studies component as well. The
final product will be a brochure summarizing and highlighting key pieces of
information.
Math: We are well underway in
Unit 3. Topics include: addition and subtraction of 2- and 3- digit numbers,
graphing, multiplication strategies, and the commutative property of
multiplication. Multiplication tests begin this Friday with students taking
their x2, x5, and x10 tests. Students need to continue to memorize their
multiplication tables.
Coding lessons with Mrs.
Fisher continue this week.
