Mrs. Partington's Pirates

Room 28/Third Grade

 

Reminders:

 

Daily please check your child's planner for homework and initial when complete.

The black LVCS dragon folders will be our 'Friday Folder', review, empty and send back on Mondays.

Wednesdays are Music, remember to send recorders and music book.

Fridays are P.E., remember to wear appropriate clothing and shoes.

 

Reading Logs:(Friday to Friday, 100 minutes)  These need to come to school every Friday for checking!

Total your weekly minutes for easier and faster checking.

 

Please help your child to record their time and titles in their reading log.  Third graders should be reading at least 100 minutes per week.  Your family may decide how those minutes are dispersed throughout the week.  I do ask that children read and set a goal for completion.  I also encourage you to ask questions about what your children have read, checking for comprehension.  More than 100 minutes is always fantastic!

 

Spelling 

 

Our word lists are currently compiled from science and social studies vocabulary,Literacy vocabulary, high frequency, and homophones.

 

Please do homework neatly and accurately on lined binder paper.  Heading on top and holes to the left.

Mondays:  Words are to be written in word building stair steps

Ex: s

        st

        sta

        stai

        stair

Tuesdays: Words are used in Tongue Twister sentences.  A tongue twister does not need to rhyme, simply try to use many words in the sentence that begin with the same letter as the spelling word.  They do need to make sense.

Wednesdays: Vowel/Consonant Take Away, EX: stair, str, ai, stair

Thursdays:  Practice test with your parents verbally and written.

Fridays:  We will take the test whole class.  Good luck!

Spelling words can be found here as a link, in their planners and I will send home a paper copy on Fridays as a preview.

Scholastic Book Orders: 

If you choose to order, you may drop off your paper order with check payment made to Scholastic in the yellow envelope by the door OR you may order and pay online at ScholasticBookClubs.  Our user name is partington and our password is pirates.  They will typically be due a week following distribution and arrive two weeks following that.  Thanks in advance.  Your purchases earn our class bonus points that can be used to acquire free books.

 

 

English/Language Arts and Writer's Workshop

 

 Learning grammar rules can be tough.  We are learning when to use appropriate contractions, when to double ending consonants before a suffix, and when to change y to ies in plural nouns.

 

 Practicing reading strategies such as predicting, questioning, inferring, connecting, summarizing and evaluating is helping us to become better readers.  The children are regularly taking AR tests now and the race is on.

 

 

 Math

 

Third grade is often a difficult mathematical transition year for many.  Several new concepts are introduced and practiced at more depth than previous years.  Do not fret.  All these concepts are reviewed and covered again in fourth grade.

 

We are currently exploring the world of geometry.  Lines, angles, shapes, area, perimeter and volume are just a few of the new concepts we are discovering.  Discuss with your child what they know about these terms as they show up in their spelling lists.

 

Two digit multiplication and long division were complicated tasks for third grade.  We will continue to revisit this through the use of Mountain Math, Accelerated Math and center activities in the classroom.  Continued practice of multiplication facts at home are necessary for continued growth. 

 

Customary and Metric measurement were fun to practice and learn about.  However converting and keeping the two separate is a confusing task for many.  Examining and talking about how these are used around the house will help your children to be more familiar.

 

 Social Studies

 

We are investigating the past of our hometown of Livermore.  If any third grade families have information, books, or photos to share, I welcome the addition to our curriculum.  Each third grade class will be visiting the other third grade teachers where they will travel back in time and learn about a variety of historic buildings and land areas in Livermore.  (Ravenswood, Original Library, Southern Pacific Library, Ravenswood, Independence Hall and the Livermore Rodeo.  Stay tuned for a walking historic field trip through downtown Livermore or a visit from the History Mobile.

 

Science

 

We have already begun an investigation of our Moon, our star, and our Earth.  We will be spending a lot of time exploring all the facts that interest us about the moon and its phases.  We will become familiar with each phase of the moon and track this with a moon log.  Mrs. Johnston, the science specialist, will also be doing many hands on activities related to the things in our sky. 

  

 

Wish List

 

The best gift you can give to our classroom is any donation to our PTO account.  Some of the things our classroom would benefit from are  20 wipe off lap boards, educational games,  I am looking for an affordable chart stand.

 

Not necessities, but would be nice:  dvd player,8X10 rug for library area,  microwave and games for fun Fridays. /Boggle/Connect 4)

 

Thanks so much for all your support!

 

Mrs. Elaine Partington