Working Hard!
A mind boggling, but true fact is that we are more than halfway through the school year! Your
children are humming along, working very hard, and turning out some wonderful writing, reports,
reading responses, and creative art projects. The cursive is shaky, but will steadily improve. I am
sure that you are enjoying reviewing their work. February means Valentine’s Day, observing the
Presidents’ birthdays, winter vacation, and unfortunately a short school month.
On the 100th day of school, Feb. 1st, we will be assisting our kindergarten buddies in their
count of 100 items. We will also have a clay lesson, an outdoor living classroom lesson,, and some
patriotic and heart art.
Curriculum
Math - Fractions, ultiplication and division will continue to be our focus this month. Daily games,
manipulatives, timed tests, written work, and drills are just a few of the ways we will learn and master
these facts. Division with remainders will be introduced with a “raisin” lesson. We will also continue
our weekly problem solving and will constantly review 4-digit subtraction. Please continue using
flash cards or making up your own games at home to reinforce the “facts”.
Social Studies - Study of the local Ohlone Indians will start this month. In April we will have a visit
from the Youth Science Institute which will give us hands on experience with the Ohlone Culture. We
are really looking forward to this unit.
Science - The students used mirrors and flashlights to experience the reflection of light and changing
its direction of travel. They were introduced to the idea of light absorption and used gels to create
colored-light environments. In Feb. students will sort a variety of materials based on state: solid,
liquid, and gas and learn the concept of mass - the stuff of the world - and how to measure mass by
weighing. They will also learn the conventions associated with measuring fluid volume.
Mac Lab - Last month we surfed the web using Google as a starting point. The third graders were all
able to find information about their Famous Americans and were excited about where it led them. We
also did a friendly letter which will hopefully be sent to the addressee, and practiced keyboarding.
Coming up is “painting” our version of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and exploration of the Underground
Railroad on scholastic.com.
Reading/Language Arts- Finishing up a biography about Martin Luther King. Jr. is our current project
using literature circles to jigsaw this book. We will soon be back in our third grade reader which is an
anthology of literature. This month we will be focusing on different strategies including how to
evaluate a story, asking questions that will help increase our understanding of the selection,
summarizing the important ideas, and rereading to clarify.
Valentines’ Day - Because of the district and state nutrition policy, candy may not be included with
the students’ valentines. We will have a party with treats provided by the room parents.
100 Days of School - Now is a good time to replace some of the supplies in your third grader’s desk.
Most need new glue sticks, pencils, markers, and erasers.