Weekly Update #2: Aug. 31 - Sept. 4

Announcements:

• Labor Day weekend - no school on Monday
  
• Supplies needed for science next week. Please send in with your child if possible - small flashlight (with batteries), Hersey kisses, graham crackers, large marshmallows, tin foil (aluminum foil), saran wrap (plastic wrap), pizza boxes, Hersey bars, packing tape
• No Back to School Parent Night - instead a video has been created by the administration and our 3rd grade team to explain this year's curriculum, homework, STAAR, grades and PBL. Please, take a moment to watch the video and let me know if you have any questions. Video
• Library Day (check out) on September 9th
• Grandparents Day Luncheon on September 11th
• Scholastic Book Orders due on September 19th (online orders - Your Class Activation Code NP79X).  The link to order is on the Welcome page (icon on the bottom half of page)

• Fall Picture Day on September 22nd  
• Early Release Day on September 23rd 
• Orange Leaf Spirit Day on September 23rd

*Homework will start in another week or so. Students are more than welcome to work on ixl.com at home (please have them work on the concept/unit we are currently working on in class. We are currently on Place Value).  The student's login and password information was in their Thursday folders this week. 

Class Happenings:
We had a fun full week diving into our curriculum.  We started our Reading Workshop. The kids explored our classroom library and found "just right books" for themselves. We've discussed at length the role of a good reader and what that looks like in our classroom. Check out our Padlet discussion on how they kids responded to this question this week. (Continue below the Padlet post for more important information).

Created with Padlet

We also started our Place Value and Rounding Unit.  We examined place values up to hundred thousand by writing numbers in standard form, expanded form and written (word) form. We did this in a variety of ways this week.  The kids seemed to loved the Place Value Card Game and using the white boards.  

We also started writing in our newly decorated Writer's Journals. We are generating ideas for our personal narrative. We began by thinking of all the special people in our lives and fun places we have experienced to spark story ideas. In Science, we studied science tools, safety rules/expectations, famous scientist and completed an experiment using the scientific method. We met with our Kinder Buddies!  Our third grade students really enjoying becoming the "older" buddy.