Welcome to GRADE THREE
Grade Three
June 3 - June 7
We are going on our Field Trip on Tuesday. A notice went home last Thursday giving all the details. If you have any other questions, please contact me.
This week's Spelling words are words that have parts that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. These words are: cloth, clothes, nature, natural, able, ability, mean, meant, deal, dealt,please, pleasant, sign, signal, signature, equal, equation, equator, major, and majority.
This week's story is a fantasy story. "Elena's Serenade" was written by Campbell Geeslin. The skills we will be working on are making generalizations to improve making predictions and reviewing main idea and supporting details. The vocabulary words are: burro, bursts, factory, glassblower, puff, reply, and tune.
We continue the chapter on using data with graphs. We are reviewing picture graphs and learning about bar graphs. The children should continue to study their multiplication facts.
May 28th - May 31st
The Lawn Party begins on Thursday, May 30th. Hope to see you there. This week's Spelling words are multisyllabic words. Spelling words with many syllables need to be broken into smaller parts. Due to the short week and the difficult list of words, the children will be responsible for the basic words and not the Challenge Words. They are : leadership, gracefully, refreshment, uncomfortable, overdoing, remarkable, carefully, unbearably, ownership, unacceptable, impossibly, reappeared, unprepared, oncoming, and misbehaving. The story this week is an animal fantasy called, "Two Bad Ants", written by Chris Van Allsburg. They will be reviewing cause and effect and then read for finding elements of plot and theme. The vocabulary for this week are: crystal, disappeared, discovery, goal, journey, joyful, scoop, and unaware. In Math the children begin a new chapter on reading and making different types of graphs. They will learn how to collect data and use different graphs to display it. In Science the children will be studying about rocks and natural resources. We need to go back and review the last chapter in Social Studies. This chapter is very important as it has to do with our government and its importance.
May 20th - May 24th
Due to our busy and hectic schedule this past week, the test in Social Studies has been postponed. The date will be posted as soon as we figure out when we are ready for it. Spelling Test will still be given on Friday. (Basic Words Only!!)
Thank you to everyone who volunteered to be a chaperone. I would have liked to take everyone, but there isn't enough space. The people who will be chaperones are : Mrs. Dumeny, Mrs. Forget, Mrs. Cappiello, Mrs. Esposito, Mrs. Lewandowski, and Mrs. Reim. All money for the trip is due now. Thank you!!
On Wednesday, May 22nd, the children will be performing the Spring Musical. There will be two performances, one at 1:00 pm and one at 6:30 pm. The Ice Cream Social and Book Fair will follow the evening performance. This week we are reading a photo essay called "Talking Walls - Art for People" by Katacha Diaz. We will focus on these vocabulary words - encourages, native, settled, social, local, expression, and support. Please reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. We continue to work on the skill of identifying fact or fiction. The Spelling words this week are words with the syllable patterns -tion, sion, and -ture. The new words are: question, creature, furniture, division, collision, action, direction, culture, vacation, mansion, fiction, feature, sculpture, vision, and celebration. Due to the busy week the test will be on the fifteen basic words. In Math we will continue to work on comparing fractions and decimals as well as adding and subracting decimals. We will conclude Chapter 11 on Friday and next week we will begin a chapter on making graphs. The notice about Poetry will be sent home either Monday or Tuesday. The children are aware of this assignment and many of them have already started looking for a poetry book and a poem to memorize. In Religion we have started the "Lures Program". If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
May 13th - May 17th
Field Trip notices were sent home last Thursday. Thank you for all the volunteers for the trip. I will let you know who is chosen by next week. Unfortunately not everyone will be able to join us. Please return or send in money for the spring pictures. They need to be sent to the photographer as soon as possible. There is another Pick-a-Pop dressdown day. The children need to bring in bottles in order to participate in this event. In Math we have begun comparing decimals to fractions. The children will be working with ordering decimals, comparing decimals, and adding and subtraction using decimals to the hundredth place. This week the story in reading is realistic fiction. "Happy Birthday, Mr. Kang" was written and illustrated by Susan Roth. We will be working on identifying cause and effect relationships and introducing the plot and theme of a story. The vocabulary words are: narrow, foolish, perches, bows, recipe, chilly, and foreign. Please go over the meaning of these words. The new Spelling list are words that contain a schwa sound. The schwa can be spelled in a number of different ways, but it always has the same sound. The words are: above, another, upon, animal, paper, open, family, travel, afraid, nickel, sugar, circus, item, gallon, melon, character, cardinal, Oregon, particular, and dinosaur. The weekly test will be given on Friday, May 17th. Abbreviations will be introduced this week in Grammar. We will finish reviewing the use of capitals on Monday. Our Science Test will be Wednesday, May 15th. It is on Chapter 4 in Earth Science pages C85 - C105. This chapter covered information about clouds, what happens to water in the clouds, and the causes of different types of storms. May 6th - May 10th
This week we have an early dismissal on Tuesday, May 7th. Please make sure your child knows how he/she is going home. Thank you. In Math we continue to work on fractions. We will be learning about mixed numbers and also how to add and subtract fractions with like denominators. We will continue to review number facts and division of numbers. We begin Unit VI in Reading. Our first story is the narrative nonfiction story "The Story of the Statue of Liberty" written by Betsy and Giulio Maestro. We will be covering the skills of identifying the main idea and supporting details and identifying the cause and effect relationship. The vocabulary words are: crown, liberty, models, symbol, tablet, torch, unforgettable, and unveiled. In Spelling we will be spelling words with the vowel sounds in tooth spelled with oo, ew, ue, and ui and the vowel sounds in cook with oo and u. The spelling words are: few, school, true, goose, fruit, cookie, cushion, noodle, bookmark, balloon, suit, chew, glue, Tuesday, bushel, bamboo, mildew, soothe, barefoot, and renewal. We will not have a Science Test until next Wednesday. We continue to work on Chapter 4 of Earth Science. On Thursday, May 9th, we celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Ascension at 10:00am. Please join us if you are able. Planet Report grades went home Friday. If you did not receive it, please contact me. For a first research report, these reports were well done. Our last project for the year is on poetry. More information will come home at a later date.
April 29 - May 3
Add On: Spelling list for the week of 4/29 medium, stadium, create, violin, piano, to, too, two, our, hour, because, already, applause, false, almost, taught, daughter, thought, trough, cough, neighborhood, payment, foolish, parenthood, and treatment - (Test on 5/3) Grandparent/Special Person Day is Wednesday, May 1st. Schedules should be going home this week. This week is a review week in Reading. Flashcards went home last week for the children to begin studying for the Unit Vocabulary Test. We will review vocabulary Monday and the Test will be given on Tuesday, April 30th. The Unit test will be administered on Friday, May 3rd. It is also a review week in Spelling. A list will go home on Monday and the words will be from Weeks 1-5 in Unit 5. The Spelling Test will be on Friday, May 3rd. In Science we are learning about clouds and how they are formed. We will continue to learn about what happens to water in clouds and how storms are formed. Our Chapter 4 Test will be given around May 10th. Social Studies continues with learning about government. We will first cover local and the state government and then proceed to our nation's government. We don't have a pencil sharpener as ours wore out. If possible, please send the children in with sharpened pencils. I bought a lot of 0.7 lead for the mechanical pencils so we are all set with those students that have them. Please continue to review Math facts. We are working on division and fractions. We use division to find fractional parts of sets and many are struggling because there is a weakness in knowing the multiplication facts. Have a great week!!!!
April 22nd - 26th Welcome back to school. I hope everyone had a relaxing spring vacation and is ready to get back to work!! This will be a busy week getting ready for Open House on Thursday, April 25th.
This week we are reading another realistic fiction story called, "Me and Uncle Romie" by Claire Hartfield. The skills we will work on are activating prior knowledge to understand author's purpose and reviewing statements that are either fact or opinion. The new vocabulary from this story are: cardboard, feast, fierce, flights, pitcher, ruined, stoops, and treasure. Please reinforce the meanings of these words at home. As this is Week 5 of Unit 5, flashcards will be going home to study to prepare for the unit vocabulary test, on Tuesday, April 30th.
Our spelling words are words with suffixes -y, -ish, -hood, and -ment. They are: rocky, foolish, rainy, childhood, selfish, treatment, movement, neighborhood, childish, parenthood, crunchy, bumpy, payment, sleepy, shipment, assignment, livelihood, stylish, environment, and guilty.
We have finished Chapter 5 in Social Studies. We will review this week and be tested on Thursday, April 25th.
On Wednesday, April 24th, we will be attending Benediction as a school community. We will be meeting in the gym at 1:00 pm.
On Friday, April 26th, there will collection bottles for the Pick-a-Pop Booth. If a child brings in two bottles, they may have a Dress Down on Friday.
April 8th - 12th * We are out of tissues and the cold season is still taking a toll on us. Please consider sending in a box of tissues to help us out. Thank you. This will be a very busy week for the students. Our planet reports are due on Friday, April 12th. Please make sure that they draw a picture of the planet and include it in the report. The report should have a decorated cover, a one-two page report, a picture of the planet, and anything else they want to include in it. We have also finished Chapter 3 in Science. The corrected homework will be sent home to study from and we will review all week with the Test to be given on Friday, April 12th. This week our spelling words will again be more words that have the vowel sound as in ball spelled with augh, ough, al, and ou. The words are: thought, fought, bought, taught, caught, walk, cough, talk, daughter, ought, sought, brought, trough, chalk, stalk, sidewalk, distraught, afterthought, overwrought, and beanstalk. (The test on these words will be on Friday, April 12th) Our next story in Reading is "Jalapeno Bagels" written by Natasha Wing which is a realistic fiction story. The new vocabulary words are: bakery, batch, boils, braided, dough, ingredients, knead, and mixture. Please review these words with you child. The skills covered this week will be a review of fact and opinion and an introduction to drawing conclusions. We will also be reviewing the identification of adverbs and introducing adverbs that compare. We are working on identifying and writing fractions. This week we will compare fractions to identify equivalent fractions and fractions that are greater than or lesser than. They will also be ordering fractions from smallest to largest. These are very new skills and will take time to master. At the same time we will continue to work on multiplication facts and division.
April 1st - 5th
Wishing everyone a Blessed Easter Season. Hope everyone had a relaxing and healthy few days off. I have allowed the children the opportunity to bring in ebooks to read during silent reading time. This has been successful and many of the children have loved this privledge. I will be sending home the rules just to reinforce that the children are responsible for their own equipment. Thank you. This week we are reading, "Good bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong", by Frances and Ginger Park. The new vocabulary words are : raindrops, homesick, curious, airport, memories, delicious, farewell, described. Please reinforce the meaning of these words with your child. The skills will involve understanding sequencing in a story. We will also continue to work on comparing and contrasting two or more things. Spelling words for the week went home last Thursday with each child. The test will be given on Friday, April 5th. The words follow the pattern of words with the vowel sound of ball spelled a, au, and aw. The words are: small, almost, always, because, straw, drawn, also, author, false, already, flaw, sausage, applause, walnut, lawn, awesome, altogether, awning, faucet, and laundry. The children should be working on their planet reports which is due on April 12th. They should have a book and online research that was given to them by me. The report does not have to be long, but they need to take notes. They may also look online for other information if they need it. In Math we continue to work on division and also we start a new chapter on fractions. The children did a great job on the Chapter 8 Math test.
March 25th - 29th March Book Reports are due Monday (March 25th). Many reports have been brought in and they look great. I hope they enjoyed this report. Sorry that I never sent home the information about the Planet Report. That will go out tomorrow. The children have been told that they may bring in ebooks to read during silent reading. We have set up a policy about these items and, as long as you approve, your child may bring his/hers in. They must be the one reponsible for it. It worked very well last week especially during the Iowa Testing which is now complete. We are having a Math test either Wednesday or Thursday this week on Chapter 8. We have been working on division through 5 and the children seem to be doing well. They have even improved on their timed tests. Thank you for reviewing these facts with them. Due to Iowa Testing we have not spent much time on Science or Social Studies. This week in Science we begin our Chapter on the Solar System. Our Spelling Test on homonyms will be given on Tuesday, March 26th. There will be no other spelling words until Tuesday, April 2nd. This week in Reading the children will read the narrative nonfiction story, "How My Family Lives in America" by Susan Kuklin which is also a photo essay. The children will be working on identifying facts and opinions and recognize how they are used within text. We also will be reviewing compare and contrast. Vocabulary words are: famous, overnight, mention, twist, admire, popular, custom, and public. This week is the most sacred of our church. We will spend a lot of time going over the important events of Holy Week.
March 18th - 22nd
Add on comments. The children have started to get "spring fever" and at times are having trouble with self control. Starting this week the children will be receiving a green slip that is taped to their desks. Whenever I need to stop the class to discipline, the child or children responsible will receive a check mark. These slips will go home every Friday for you to sign and return. I'm sure that in a few weeks we will not need these slips anymore and the children will regain their own self control. Thank you. This week we will continue to administer the Iowa Tests. Due to these tests we will continue to work on the story "Suki"s Kimono". There will not be any new vocabulary words. The Spelling this week will be homophones - words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings. The Spelling Test will not be given on Friday but on Tuesday, March 26th. The words are: to, too, two, week, weak, our, hour, stair, stare, flour, flower, write, right, new, knew, their, there, they're, weather, and whether. In Science we will begin the Chapter on our solar system. Our April Book Report will be a report on a planet. The children will be assigned a planet. They will be given time in computer to find information about the planet. The rest of the assignment will be done at home. More information will follow this week. They will also have a project in Science and they will make up a board game using planets as a theme. This information will also go home this week. In Math the children are still working on division. They should be working on memorizing their number facts as this helps them in their ability to do division. There will be no school on Wednesday as the teachers have an inservice. March Book Reports (Fancy Folders) are due on Monday, March 25th.
March 11 - 15 Due to the day off on Friday, the children will have their Spelling Test and Social Studies Test on Monday. However, the ScienceTest scheduled for Tuesday will now be on Wednesday. Our Unit IV Reading Test will also be given on Monday. This week also is the beginning of the Iowa Tests. Each child needs to have two or three #2 pencils (not mechanical). Please have your child well rested with a good breakfast as research has shown that children with a full stomach will do better on a test. We took a practice test last week and the children are familiar with the format. This week in Reading we begin the first story in Unit V, "Suki's Kimono" written by Chieri Uegaki. The genre is realistic fiction. The new vocabulary are: cotton, festival, graceful, handkerchief, paces, pale, rhythm, and snug. Other words to go over are approve, ignored, and straightening. The Spelling words are those that have the syllable patterns CVVC and CVV. The words are: create, medium, piano, idea, radio, video, studio, violin, duo, patio, rodeo, pioneer, trio, stadium, audio, audience, radiate, cereal, Creole, and recreation. The test will be on Friday, March 15th. On Wednesday we will be going to tour the library. If your child has a library card, please send it in with him/her. If you signed the form for them to get one, they will get it when we get to the library. We leave at 9am and get back around 11:15am in time for lunch. Please have the children in their uniforms. In Math we are learning about division and fact families. The children are still learning their facts and should be practicing them every night. On Friday there will be a Dress Down Day. This will benefit the Golf Tournament.
March 4 - March 8
Update on Spelling words: knives, children, women, scarves, halves, third, world, perfect, thirsty, certain, midnight, pretest, overtime, outfield, prefix, organist, tourist, swimmer, dentist, conductor, surprise, hundred , contrast, complete, and address. I hope everyone received the information about our next Book Report. If you did not receive it, please contact me. Thank you. The children will be receiving the Sacrament of Penance on Wednesday, March 6th. Grades 2 - 8 will participate in this event. Please have your child recite "The Act of Contrition". We say it every day, however, some children get nervous when they have to recite it alone. This week is a review of Unit IV in Reading and Spelling. Last Tuesday I had the children bring home their vocabulary flashcards which they should be reviewing. We will review all words on Monday and the Vocabulary Test is on Tuesday, March 5th. The Reading part will be administered on Thursday and Friday. The Spelling words will be updated on Monday and the test will be on Friday. We have finished Chapter 4 (pages94-119) in Social Studies. We will review all vocabulary and concepts during the week and they will have a test on Friday. We are also at the end of Chapter One (Physical Science) in Science. We will be tested on this Chapter on Wednesday, March 13th. Spelling Journals did not go home on Friday as I didn't have a break in order correct them. Hopefully, they will go home after this week's test.
February 25 - March 1
The information on the March Book Report will go home tomorrow. It is on a fiction book and all the directions and information are on the form. If you do not receive the information, please contact me. Our Spelling Test will be on Tuesday and a new list will be worked on that day also. The children should be writing in cursive now. All Phonics, Spelling, and Reading will be done in cursive. Most of the children are doing a good job. There are a few children still having trouble, but, with practice, they will be fine. In Math we have finished the Chapter on Measurement and will be tested on it on Monday. The rest of the week we will be finishing up Chapter Six on multiplication, preparing for the chapter on division. In Reading our new story will be "Fly, Eagle, Fly! An African Tale" retold by Christopher Gregorowski. The new vocabulary is : valley, gully, reeds, scrambled, echoed, and clutched. This is Week 5 so the children should bring home the flash cards for Unit IV to start studying for the vocabulary test the following week. There will be only fifteen spelling words this week and the test will be on Friday, March 1st. The basic words are: monster, surprise, hundred, complete, control, sample, instant, inspect, pilgrim, contrast, explode, district, address, substance, and children.
February 18 - 22
Hope everyone had a relaxing vacation (even as short as it was). We do not have gym this week due to the two days off. This week we will be reading the story "America's Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle" by David A. Adler. The new vocabulary is as follows: strokes, drowned, stirred, continued, current. Please review these words and their meanings with your child. This story will carry over until next week due to the short week. Our spelling words for the week are as follows: dentist, editor, artist, hostess, actress, swimmer, seller, tutor, tourist, organist, lioness, shipper, chemist, investor, conductor with announcer, pharmacist, journalist, commuter, and pianist as the challenge words. The test will be given next Tuesday, February 26th. Our March Book Report will be on a fiction book. The children should be looking for a book and getting my approval. More information about the form will go home next week (Week of February 25th). In Math we are finishing the chapter on measuring. We have covered the customary and metric system. We are also continuing with learning the multiplication facts. We have finished proving all the tables. Please practice these facts daily.
February 11-15 With this crazy weather, who knows when we will actually be back in school! I'm hoping it will be tomorrow (Tuesday). Hope everyone stayed safe and warm. All Book Report Timelines are due tomorrow. The children will be explaining their poster also. Information for our next project will be sent home soon. Just a reminder that there is an early dismissal on Tuesday, February 12th. Please remind your child where he/she needs to go after school. We will be exchanging Valentine cards on Thursday. We will have a snack and drink on that day, and the children get to open their Valentine cards at this time. Last week's Spelling Test will be given on Tuesday. A new list will be given to the children on Tuesday also. Wednesday, February 13th, is Ash Wednesday and we will be having Mass and receiving ashes. Friday, February 15th, is a Dress Down Day. All proceeds will be going toward the Golf Tournament. This week we are reading “Rocks in His Head” by Carol Otis Hurst. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Each week the children make flashcards with the word and its meaning on the back. These cards should come home the fifth week which ends the Unit. We are on Week 3 of the five stories. Vocabulary Words: chores, labeled, attic, board, stamps, spare, customer
The spelling words for this week are words that have the prefixes pre-, mid-, over-, or out-. Due to the short week we will only be tested on the first fifteen words. Please practice these words at home as well.
Spelling Words: prepaid, midnight, overflow, outdoors, outline, overgrown, prefix, Midwest, pretest, midpoint, outgoing, overtime, overdue, outside, outfield.
February 4 – 8
OOPs *Please note the day change for the Timeline. I put Tuesday when it should have been Friday. It’s hard to believe it is February already! We will be having our volley ball game on Monday. The children are to wear their gym uniforms on both Monday and Tuesday as Grade three has gym on Tuesday.
Please remember that the Timeline Biography Book Reports are due on Friday, February 8th. Some have already come in and they look great!!
In Reading this week we are reading “Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest” by Steve Jenkins. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. Please reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Vocabulary Words: depth, peak, outrun, average, deserts, tides, waterfalls
This week’s Spelling words are words that have the vowel sound /er/ that can be spelled er, ir, or, and ear. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Spelling Words: third, early, world, certain, dirty, herself, earth, word, perfect, verb, nerve, worm, thirsty, workout, earn, determine, commercial, whirlwind, worthwhile, virtual
In Math we continue to work on the multiplication facts. The children will prove the eight table this week and be tested on the six table. We are also working on a Measurement Chapter. Please have the children practice the facts daily.
January 28-February 1
This week will be a very exciting week. There are special activities every day. Please refer to the calendar on the main website for the happenings. We will begin Unit IV in Reading. This week we are reading “Wings” by Christopher Myers. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Vocabulary Words: swooping, attention, struggled, drifting, glaring, looping, complained, giggle The Spelling words for the week are irregular forms of plural nouns. The words in italics are the Challenge words. The Test will be on Friday, February 1st. Spelling Words: wolves, knives, feet, men, children, women, sheep, heroes, scarves, mice, geese, cuffs, elves, banjos, halves, loaves, beliefs, tomatoes, potatoes, tornadoes In Math we continue to work on our multiplication Math facts. We will prove the seventh table. We are also working on measurements - length and volume (capacity).
January 22 – 25 This week in Reading is a review week. We will be reviewing the vocabulary from Unit III on Tuesday and be tested on them on Wednesday. The children will also be reviewing other reading skills from Unit III and take the Unit Test on Friday. Spelling is also a review week. The children were given the list last Friday and it contains five words from the last five units in Spelling. A list will be posted tomorrow on line. They are: you'll, can't, haven't, wasn't, didn't, disappear, mistake, rewrite, unknown, dishonest, large, judge, pocket, change, jacket, beautiful, finally, daily, suddenly, quietly, written, assign, wrinkle, knob, and design. In Math we continue to work on the multiplication facts. We have proven all facts to six. We are testing on the 3 and 4 tables and the children should be studying these facts each night. Friday, January 25th is a dress-down day for a monetary donation to benefit the Auction. Catholic Schools Week is next week. Every day is something special so please check the website for more details and activities.
January 14 – 18 There will be a Home and School Meeting on Tuesday, January 15th. There is also an early dismissal on Friday, January 18th. Please remind your child where he/she will be going. Most of the children have selected and had approved a biography book for their next book report project. We explained in class that this will be a timeline. They are to use a poster board to make a timeline. On it the children will place at least 6 events and pictures about the person they read about. The board should be neat. Across the top will be the name of the book and the author. They may type all the information and then cut and paste it on the board, or they may neatly write all the information out on the board. Another note will be coming home with a few more details. This week we are reading “Volcanoes Nature’s Incredible Fireworks” by David Harrison. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Vocabulary Words: beneath, buried, chimney, earthquakes, force, fireworks, trembles, volcanoes The words below are the new spelling words and the ones in italics are the challenge spelling words. Spelling Words: thumb, gnaw, written, know, climb, design, wrist, crumb, assign, wrench, knot, wrinkle, lamb, knob, knit, wrestler, bologna, cologne, honeycomb, knickknack
January 7 - 11
This week information will come home about this month's book report. It will be a biography. I have many books in our class library that they can choose from. The book must be approved by me by January 18th. I will asssign books for those children who have difficulty choosing one for themselves. Our first week back went very well. Please continue to review multiplication math facts. We proved the 3 table and made flashcards so the children need to begin memorizing these facts. This week we review all facts (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10) and at the end of the week we will prove the 4 table and have the Chapter Test. This week we are reading “A Symphony of Whales” by Steve Schuch. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. Please reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Vocabulary Words: anxiously, bay, blizzards, channel, melody, chipped, surrounded, symphony, supplies Below you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. The Spelling Test will be on Friday, January 11th. Spelling Words: beautiful, safely, kindness, finally, spotless, worthless, illness, helpful, daily, suddenly, wireless, quietly, fairness, cheerful, painful, anxiously, thoughtfully, cautiously, tardiness, breathless
January 2-4 Welcome back!! I hope everyone had a peaceful and fun-filled holiday and vacation. We are now ready to begin the New Year of 2013. A great big THANK YOU to everyone who helped out at the party; without your help, it could not have happened. Also your generosity was greatly appreciated. I was both surprised and thrilled with all my gifts! Thank you again. This week we will review all the multiplication facts that were proven the week before vacation (0, 1, 2, 5 and 10). The children should have their flashcards every night to practice with and return them to school daily as we work on them during class time. The Spelling words were given to the children last week and the test will be on Friday, January 4th. They are as follows: clock, large, page, mark, kitten, judge, crack, edge, pocket, brake, change, ridge, jacket, badge, orange; freckles, advantage, pledge, kingdom, and Kentucky. We will be reading the story "Night Letters" and the new vocabulary are - blade, flutter, fireflies, patch, dew, budding, and notepad.
December 10 – 14 This week will be a very busy one. We will be practicing for the concert at the church on Tuesday and then performing on Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 pm at the school and at 6:30 that evening at St. Bernard Church. The colors are black and white with a splash of red or green. Regular Santa hats can be worn also. Math- The children will be tested on Chapter 2 (Money and Time) on Tuesday. The fun begins as we introduce the concept of Multiplication. Please review each Table as it is introduced. By Christmas vacation we should have introduced the 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10 tables. Flashcards will be made for each table presented for the children to take home and study. Reading-This week we are reading “Pushing Up the Sky” by Joseph Bruchac. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child.Vocabulary Words: antlers, imagined, languages, narrator, poked, overhead Spelling- Our spelling words for the week are words that have prefixes. Please practice these words at home. The words in italics are the challenge words. Our Test will be on Friday. Spelling Words: unhappy, recall, disappear, unload, mistake, misspell, dislike, replace, mislead, disagree, rewrite, unroll, unknown, dishonest, react, unfortunate, discourage, uncomfortable, recycle, mispronounce
December 3rd - 7th This week there will be Santa's Workshop on Wednesday and Thursday, December 5th and 6th. There will be Reconciliation on Wednesday, December 5th during the school day. We will be practicing and reviewing the process on Monday and Tuesday. Last Friday the children took the Unit II Reading Test and the results were excellent. They are learning how to put forth their best effort when taking a test. These tests can not be studied for but they show the areas that they are weak in. The vocabulary test (on Unit II words) results were also great. I am proud of them!!! Every child should be reading and working on the December Book Report. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. In Math we continue to work on telling time and then reviewing the chapter on money and time. We begin the chapter on multiplication next week. It is important that once we begin introducing each fact that the children study and learn those number facts. This week we are reading “The Gardener” by Sarah Stewart. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Please practice these words at home as well. This week’s words in spelling are contractions. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words and the weekly test will be on Friday, December 7th. Spelling Words: let’s, he’d, you’ll, can’t, I’d, you’d, haven’t, hasn’t, she’d, they’ll, when’s, we’d, they’d, wasn’t, didn’t, should’ve, would’ve, could’ve, needn’t, you’ve Vocabulary Words: recognizing, humor, doze, bulbs, sprouting, blooming, beauty, showers
November 26-30
This week we continue with the same story as last week. The vocabulary is also the same. Last week I sent home the flashcards for Unit II. We will be having a test on them on Thursday. Our Spelling Test for Week 5 has also been changed to Wednesday due to our Field Trip. (father, chapter, other, alphabet, watch, English, weather, catch, fashion, shrink, pitcher, flash, athlete, trophy, nephew, northern, establish, emphasis, hyphen, challenge). The children will be bringing home a list of review words for the Unit II Spelling Review Test. Not sure when the Test will be. There will be a monetary Dress Down Day on Friday for the Auction.
November 19 – 21 It was great meeting everyone during conferences last week. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. This week will be a short but busy one. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to cook for our feast. Anyone who is able to come help set up and serve is welcome. We start at 11:00 am but would like helpers to be there around 10:00 am. The children will receive Spelling words this week; however the Test won’t be until Tuesday, November 27th. Next week they will receive a review list in Spelling for Unit II on which they will be tested on Friday, November 30th. This list should be easy as it contains words from each Lesson in Unit II that they’ve already had. The November Book Report has been stretched into December. The children are to read a fiction (make-believe) book. They will receive a form to fill out about the book and then make three paragraphs to summarize the story using the information on the Guide Sheet. A more detailed notice will be coming home soon. In Math we continue to use money to make change. We also will begin telling time to the nearest five minutes. This week we are reading “William’s House” by Ginger Howard. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing. Please listen to your child read these words aloud. Spelling Words: father, chapter, other, alphabet, watch, English, weather, catch, fashion, shrink, pitcher, flash, athlete, trophy, nephew, northern, establish, emphasis, hyphen, challenge Vocabulary Words: clearing, pegs, steep, cellar, barrels, spoil
November 12 - 16 Thank you to my students who were able to participate in the Family Mass on Sunday I'm sure a great job was done by all. Conferences begin on Tuesday morning. Please let me know if you are unable to make your appointed time. In Math we are taking timed tests on facts to 17. The children should be reviewing their facts daily. We are also beginning a unit on money and time. Please review counting money with your child. This week we are reading “Tops and Bottoms adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing. Please listen to your child read these words aloud.
Spelling Words: splash, throw, three, square, throat, strike, street, split, splurge, thrill, strength, squeak, throne, strawberry, squeeze, squid, squander, arthritis, instrument, strategy The test will be on Friday of this week.
Vocabulary Words: lazy, bottom, crops, clever, cheated, partners, wealth
November 5 - 9
There will be no hot lunch on Tuesday. Information about a pizza lunch went out last week. If you wish to order that lunch for your child, please send in the money by Monday. There will be no school on Thursday as the teachers will be attending an inservice that day. Grade Three is reponsible for the Family Mass on Sunday, November 11th. We need two children to bring up scrolls and a few children to read the petitions. Assignments will be given to the children on Monday. A note will be going home to those children who want to participate in the Mass on Monday also. Due to the two days off, we will be working on the same story, vocabulary, and spelling as stated below. Last week we read “Prudy’s Problem and How She Solved It” by Carey Armstrong-Ellis. Please continue to reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing. Please listen to your child read these words aloud. Spelling Words: sunglasses, football, homework, haircut, popcorn, railroad, snowstorm, earring, scarecrow, blueberry, butterflies, lawnmower, campground, sandbox, toothbrush, thumbtack, earthquake, scrapbook, courthouse, whirlpool Vocabulary Words: enormous, scattered, strain, realize, collection, shiny
The Social Studies Test will be on Tuesday. We reviewed the information on Friday and we will review again on Monday. The children should study the vocabulary from the chapter also. We completed the last Lesson of Chapter 2 in Science. We will review that chapter all week and be tested on it on Friday.
October 22 – 26 We had some really creative and unique pumpkins visit us on Friday! The children did an awesome job! Thank you for your help with this project. I am trying to figure out how to put the pictures online for you to see. Our Book Report Poster is due on Friday, October 26th. The children will be explaining their posters on that day also. The information put on the poster must have been found in the book that was read. The pictures may come from the computer or other sources. Many of the children have lost their dry erase markers or they have run out. If possible, please buy a new slate with marker. The slates I purchased did not hold up as well as the ones I bought last year. We use these for math almost daily. Spelling Journals did not go home on Friday. I was unable to correct all of them; however they will be going home on Monday. Please sign and send them back to school on Tuesday. Grades 2 – 5 will be going to the play “The Christmas Carol” in December. Field trip notices will be sent home on Monday or Tuesday. We need to send the money in by November 1st so I ask that you return these slips as soon as possible. If you have any concerns, please contact me. In Math we will be working on subtraction with regrouping. Please review subtraction facts. The children had no problem last week with the concept of regrouping in addition but many mistakes were made during the addition process. This week we are reading “A Day’s Work” by Eve Bunting. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing. The skill involves dividing words that end in –le. Please listen to your child read these words aloud. Spelling Words: handle, trouble, simple, people, middle, table, little, gentle, poodle, pickle, noodle, saddle, juggle, uncle, riddle, example, throttle, obstacle, miracle, muscle Vocabulary Words: gardener, excitement, shivered, sadness, shocked, slammed, motioned
October 14 - October 19 Reminder: All “Mini Me Pumpkins” are due in by Friday, October 19th. If you have any concerns, please contact me as soon as possible. All children have chosen a book for the book report poster. Two examples have already been brought in so the children have models to work from. This week in Math we continue to work with addition properties and regrouping. We will continue to have timed tests on addition facts to 13. Our new unit in Religion is "God Is Great and Good". We will be discussing how He is loving, holy, great, just, and merciful. The children will also be learning "The Apostles' Creed". Please help your child memorize this prayer. Our new chapter in Science is about how animals grow and change. The first lesson will explore how babies are like their parents and how animals grow from eggs. Next week we will examine the parts of an egg using the chicken egg as a model. We are discussing communities and the three different types of communities – rural, suburban, and urban in Social Studies. We will compare and look at pictures of each type. This week we are reading “Penguin Chick” by Betty Tatham. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. The children will be tested on these words at the end of the unit. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules of decoding words with the syllable patterns V/CV and VC/V. Please listen to your child read these words aloud. Spelling Words: finish, pilot, even, wagon, music, silent, rapid, female, lemon, pupil, focus, robot, tulip, camel, salad, resident, spinach, climate, tradition, innocent Vocabulary Words: hatch, pecks, snuggles, preen, flippers, frozen, cuddles
October 9th (New Message) Progress reports went home tonight. Please sign and return the bottom part. This report tells you where your child is progressing at midterm. If you have any concerns or questions, please email or call me and we can set up a conference. Also tomorrow September Calendars will be sent home. These calendars are to be signed and returned to school. We will be seeing our movie on Friday if all goes as planned. There were some questions about painting the pumpkins. The children are to cut and paste (or glue) the objects to the pumpkin. You may have to use stonger glue or a gluegun. This is my first experience with this project so feedback is welcome. October 8 - 12 Hope everyone had a relaxing weekend. This week will be a review week for Reading, Spelling, and Grammar. We will review the vocabulary and concepts presented in Unit I. On Wednesday the class will be tested on the vocabulary words from weeks 1-5. Flashcards were sent home for the children to study and tomorrow we will play a Jeoprady Game in which we review the meanings of the words. On Friday there will be a Unit Test given. This test covers concepts and skills introduced in Grammar and Reading and really can not be studied for. Please let me know if your child will not be in on Friday so we can make arrangements to administer the test early. Spelling will be a selection of 25 words from Unit I and the Test will be on Friday. The words are : lettuce, winter, subject, spelling, suggest, pennies, inches, copies, families, supplies, easiest, leaving, freezing, heavier, strangest, agree, shadow, Sunday, thrown, coach, proud, bounce, appoint, amount, and hour. We have just completed Chapter One in Science on plants. We will review the material all week and the Chapter Test will be given on Friday also. Due to Monday's holiday, there will be "gym all" on Tuesday. The children should be working on their "Mini Me" pumpkins. If you have any questions, please let me know. Many of the children have chosen a book for their book report project. All other children should select a book before Friday. I will help them select one if they are having any difficulty finding one.
October 1 - 5 Thank you for continuing to sign the Daily Planners and Spelling Journals each week. We will be having our first Social Studies Test this week. We have been working on the continents and oceans of the world. The children will be given a map and they will identify the seven continents and the four oceans. In Science we continue to learn about living things by examining plants. We will also dissect a seed to find its parts. In Math we continue to learn about numbers to the hundred thousands place. We begin reviewing the chapter on Tuesday and the first chapter test will be on Thursday. This week we are reading “My Rows and Piles of Coins” by Tololwa M. Mollel. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing. Please listen to your child read these words aloud. Spelling Words: proud, shower, hour, amount, voyage, choice, avoid, thousand, prowl, employ, bounce, poison, annoy, appoint, broil, however, mountain, coward, turmoil, chowder Vocabulary Words: errands, bundles, steady, wobbled, dangerously, arranged, unwrapped, excitedly
September 24 - 28 A great time was had by all on Friday. Thank you chaperones for all you did to help make their day so very successful. It was also nice to have met so many of you at Orientation last Tuesday. I hope you were able to absorb all that was shared in such a short time. Please remember to see me with any problems or questions. I am just getting used to the email system and will learn to check it every day. I will try to get back to you within 24 hours. If you send me an email during the day, please understand that I don't have time to get on the computer during class hours and can't respond during the day. The addition timed tests are going well. Subtraction seems to give them more trouble so this is an area that they should be working on. We will be working on up to 12 by the end of this week. I was not able to correct Spelling Tests on Friday before they went home, so Journals will be going home on Monday to be signed and returned on Tuesday. Thank you! Third Grade Parent Newsletter #4 This week we are reading “If You Made a Million” by David M. Schwartz. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing. Please listen to your child read these words aloud. Spelling Words: clean, agree, teeth, dream, grain, coach, display, window, shadow, cheese, peach, braid, Sunday, float, thrown, entertain, complain, bleachers, willow, wheat Vocabulary Words: amount, worth, value, earned, interest, expensive, check, thousand, million
September 17 - 21 On Friday the children should have brought home their Spelling Journal. Please sign on the page of this week's Spelling Test. Each week this Journal will be coming home. It needs to be signed and returned the next day (usually Monday). This will keep you informed as to the results of the weekly Spelling test. Tuesday night is Parent Orientation. I look forward to meeting everyone. There will be quite a bit of information shared so I hope everyone will be able to join us. There were many people who volunteered to chaperone the "Big E". I put all names in a basket and took eight names out. Those people not chosen will have priority for the next field trip which will be the play "The Christmas Carol" on December 19th or the end of year trip in May/June. Thank you for your understanding. Chaperones may now send in the $5.00 bus fee.
Third Grade Parent Newsletter #3 This week we are reading “Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday” by Judith Viorst. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing. Please listen to your child read these words aloud. Spelling Words: using, getting, easiest, swimming, heavier, greatest, pleased, emptied, leaving, worried, strangest, freezing, funniest, angrier, shopped, included, occurred, supplying, scarier, happiest Vocabulary Words: college, rich, downtown, nickels, dimes, quarters, fined Phonics Rule: Adding the endings -ing, -er, -est, and -ed to words.
September 10 - 14 Welcome to the second week of school. Just a few extra details. The children should be bringing their Daily Planners (Assignment Books) home each night. Please sign the bottom to show me that you have seen the assignment(s). Sometimes the children may have extra work to complete. This is not homework, but classwork that was not completed during the day. They are to complete this work as well as the homework assignments. Once we meet at Orientation a lot of things will be clearer and more understandable. I will go over expectations and homework assignments. Each night the children are to read at least 15-20 minutes and write one sentence about what they read. There will be a chart sent home weekly to be filled out. It is very important that the children read nightly. This chart will not be sent home until after Open House. Also snack should be such that the children are able to eat and continue their work. I give them anywhere from 30-45 minutes to eat but they must continue to work on morning assignments. So far there have been no problems and the children caught on very quickly. Again, any questions please call or see me.
Third Grade Parent Newsletter #2 This week we are reading “What About Me?” by Ed Young. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. There are no challenge spelling words this week. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing. Please listen to your child read these words aloud. Spelling Words: pennies, inches, plants, families, bodies, glasses, wishes, pockets, lists, copies, parties, bunches, crashes, supplies, pencils (There are no challenge words this week due to the test being on Friday with only 4 days to study.) Vocabulary Words: carpenter, carpetmaker, knowledge, marketplace, merchant, plenty, straying, thread
Phonics Rule: Adding -s, -es, or -ies to make singular words plural.
New Information Our Specials Schedule is as follows: Monday - Spanish and Media Center Tuesday - Gym Wednesday - None Thursday - Art and Media Center Friday - Music We had a very good first day. We are learning the rules of the class and also learning about each other. Daily Planners will be coming home today. Please sign to show that you have seen the homework assigned for each night. Thank you. The words for spelling will be coming home tonight also. The weekly test will usually be on a Friday, however the first test will be given next Tuesday, September 11th. The words are always on the newsletter and the children also bring home a copy that they have written.
Welcome Back! Summer sure flew by and we are now ready to enter a new school year! I'd like to welcome you and your child back to school. As I feel communication between parents and teacher is so important, I am available every day from 7:00am until 8:15am. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me immediately. No question is too small and a problem can be alleviated if I am aware of the concern you may have. I hope that this third grade experience will be a fulfilling one for both you and your child. There are many new challenges that await your child. We also have some fun-filled activities planned throughout the year and information will be sent out either through a newsletter or this site that will keep you informed and up to date. Below is a copy of a weekly newsletter that will be online each week to explain what we will be covering in Reading and Spelling. I will also give any other important information at the beginning of each week especially an update on Science and Social Studies tests and/or projects. I am anxiously awaiting my new class so the fun can begin!! *Please note that lunch for Grade 3 is $1.75.
Third Grade Parent Newsletter #1
This week we are reading “Boom Town” by Sonia Levitin. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story. It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Please practice these words at home as well. The words in italics are our challenge spelling words. Finally, the words in the boxes contain the phonics rules we are practicing. Please listen to your child read these words aloud.
Spelling Words: happen, lettuce, basket, winter, sister, monster, supper, subject, lesson, spelling, napkin, collar, traffic, suggest, puppet, skillet, picnic, planet, system, pumpkin
Vocabulary Words: boom, pick, fetched, skillet, coins, spell, business, laundry, mending
Phonics Rule: Vowels that come before a double consonant in the middle of the word usually have a short sound.
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