October/November Classroom Snapshot

Wow!   It's hard to believe that we are well into Trimester 2 and are now ready for Thanksgiving Break!   The kids have been working so hard and are starting to get deep into the routines of being 3rd grade learners. I look forward to seeing everyone at conferences and I hope that you have a wonderful, safe, and restful holiday with your families!   

Here's what has been happening in our class:

Literacy Time:
We just completed a literacy unit of study of nonfiction.  Our mini-lessons and interactive read alouds involved the following concepts, skills, and strategies:

• Reading a variety types on nonfiction books (reference, literacy nonfiction, and biography)
• Identifying common nonfiction text features and use them to sort information and find answers to questions
• Using comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading to monitor and deepen comprehension
• Using textual evidence to support thinking about nonfiction reading in both conversation and writing
• Inferring an author's purpose or viewpoint
• Summarizing and synthesizing information to determine important ideas
• Analyzing the impact of the author's language choice on the meaning and tone of text
• Synthesizing and comparing information across texts and in various formats
• Determining meaningful goals for enhancing the reading of nonfiction

Spelling:

I appreciate all of the hard work that each student gives to spelling each evening. Please continue to make sure that they are sorting their words correctly into their various spelling categories. The goal of our spelling program is for the students to learn and retain the spelling rules and word patterns for future use in their writing. The nightly spelling sorts and activities will help your student to reach this goal.

Writing/Grammar:

Throughout Writer's Express (WEX) time, our class continues to work hard learning about the important elements to include in a personal narrative. Together, our mini-lessons have been focusing on writing our paragraphs in a more logical and organized manner. In addition, we are continuing to make sure that our work focuses on a single moment in time. Our lessons have been stressing the importance of utilizing strong verbs, good sensory detail, and proper sentence mechanics in our writing.

During grammar time, we have been focusing on the concepts of irregular and plural nouns, singular possessive nouns, and using action verbs in our writing.   

Math:

We just wrapped up Unit 3  involved learning about both the U.S. Customary and metric forms of measurement.   Currently in Unit 4,  we will focus on introducing multiplication and division fact strategies, using arrays to demonstrate the meaning of multiplication, work with multiplication and division word problems, determine the area of rectangular shapes, and collect data to discuss the topic of probability and chance. 

Science:

Our unit on habitats studied closely at how a habitat meets the survival needs of individual organisms and how physical and behavioral characteristics help organisms survive in their habitat.  Students concluded the unit by learning about the biomes around the world. The class was divided into a biome group that was in charge of researching the location, weather, plants, and animals located in their biome. Afterwards, the group learned how to make a webpage and posted their findings for the rest of the class to learn about.  Please click here to see our final webpage products: http://hynekbiomeresearch.weebly.com/

Social Studies:

The 3rd and 3-4 classes are busy preparing hosting our Chicago's World's Fair in December.  The classes are responsible for showcasing the north, south, west, and downtown neighborhoods of the city at the fair.   Our class in in charge of representing the neighborhoods on the west side of the city that involve Humboldt Park, West Town, Little Village, Pilsen, West Loop, and Little Italy and University Village.  Currently, students have been divided into groups researching, planning, and creating how they will represent their neighborhood at the event.  

Our World's Fair will be taking place on Tuesday, December 15th from 6:15-7:30 pm for all 3rd and 3-4 families to attend.  More information will be coming home from our teams soon.