Weekly Update: March 21 - March 25

Third Grade Team Website

Announcements and Friendly Reminders:

• Author Visit - The author visit is now "in-person" this upcoming Wednesday, March 30. John Schu will be here to talk to the kids about his new book and his love for writing. Our partners at Austin's independent bookstore, BookPeople, are coordinating an online sale of his new book here at this link. Books sold in advance (before Wednesday) will be signed and personalized by Mr. Schu while he is here visiting our school on Wednesday. 
• Volunteer at Elsa England - Are you interested in volunteering for our Field Day on April 14?  Or maybe you want to volunteer for our End-of-the-Year party?  Then, you need to complete the Volunteer Application as soon as possible. Here is the link. 
• Economics Fair - Students have chosen their product to make for the fair.  During the next 4 - 5 weeks, students will work on making their products (35 - 40) at home. Students will bring their products to school on April 13 (Economics Fair Day). 
• STAAR Homework - Starting after Spring Break, 3rd grade teachers will be assigning 1 reading passage with questions and 1 math review worksheet per week. This STAAR homework is to be completed at home (with parent support).  The homework is intended to help prepare and become more comfortable with this year's reading and math concepts. The STAAR homework should be returned to school each Friday to show the teacher that it has been completed. Reading passages/questions will be assigned on Schoology (to practice online) and/or on paper. Math homework will be on paper. For any additional practice students can use the following resources:  Reading practice: use my website's "reading and writing links", read with your child and ask questions about the content, go over reading assignments from Thursday folders. Math practice: use my website's "math links", Dreambox, Splash Learn, create a FREE Khan Academy account (great resource for students all the way through high school), look over your child's math notebook and go over math assignments from Thursday folders. ​
• Reading Unit - Our current unit: Informational Reading and Research. We are focusing on our PBL (Project Based Learning) topic which is "How can we educate others about conserving our natural resources and protecting our planet?" Students have chosen their topic and have begun their research. We continue to practice reading comprehension strategies (nonfiction text features, main/central idea, context clues, problem/solution, inferencing, summarizing, fact vs opinion, cause/effect, author's purpose). 
• Writing Unit -  Our current unit: Nonfiction Writing. We will be writing informational pieces including our PBL project, script for our ecosystems project, and so much more! 
• Science Unit - Our current unit is on Environments, Ecosystems and Food Chains. We have explored 5 different environments (forests, deserts, grasslands, wetlands, oceans/coral reefs, tundra). We will continue to dive deeper into ecosystems by learning more about the animals and plants that live in each ecosystem. 
• Math Unit  - Our current math unit is on Place Value up to 100,000.  This week we've spent time learning how to write a 4 digit number in many ways (word form, standard form, expanded form and using base ten blocks). We've also spent 2 days on rounding larger numbers (up to 10,000). 
• Think Sheet - If a student continues to break or not follow our class's Social Contract or PAWS expectations, the student will need to complete a Think Sheet during recess time. This Think Sheet will go home for parents to discuss with their child, sign the sheet and return it the next day.
• Grades (Home Access - HAC) - Please check Home Access Center (HAC) to see your child's current grades on assignments, quizzes and test. If you see a "M" in Home Access, it means you child has not completed and turned in that particular assignment. Remember, students can make corrections or redo any assignment, quiz or test that is below 70% for a possible 70% per school district policy. 
• Stay informed - Make sure you have the FREE Class Dojo app on your phone so you can see messages from me. Friendly Reminder messages are sent out a couple times a week! Plus, I usually post 1 - 2 pictures a week in our Class Story on Class Dojo showing some of the activities we do during our school day!
• Scholastic Book Order - If you are interested in getting new books for your child, consider ordering books from our Scholastic Book Club. Order online at: clubs.scholastic.com/ Our class code is: NP79X