Month: September 2023

Hooray! The students and I are happy to be done with MAP testing, and are all set to dive into our normal routines, homework, and curriculum. You will see things picking up a little bit now.

I’m so happy to welcome Mrs. Laura Roberts on Monday. Mrs. Roberts will be shared between second and third grade as an instructional aide. I’d love to get in a routine with Mrs. Roberts before I add classroom volunteers into our day. I’m anticipating sending out a volunteer sign up mid-October. Here is Mrs. Roberts with her family:

Math – This week we completed the addition portion of the first chapter and have moved into the subtraction. A lot of this is review, but regrouping of double and triple addition and subtraction is great to practice at home. The students are doing amazing with the rounding concept, which can be a challenge and I’m proud of them!

Religion – Students completed week one, wrapping up with a fun review game, before our assessment. They had an opportunity to recite the memory verse. Look for these in Seesaw to practice each week. One of the main concepts taught in this first chapter was how the Bible is organized and how to find verses. Fun to explore at home or at church!

Literacy – We ran through our center routine, reading groups, and the structure of our reading block. Our first unit is on animal adaptations. Students are working on a poem about their best parts and I’m excited to dive into the writing process once again with them. You will love these!

Science– For science this week we went on a webquest. Students checked their emails for links, watched a couple short videos, and answered questions about fossils. Next week we will be making fossils and exploring some fun hands on activities. This is a fun one!

Social Studies– We began our unit on map skills by learning about cardinal and intermediate directions. Next week we will dive into the oceans and continents.

Spanish –Una nota de Señora Anna- This week we celebrated the start of autumn with a book and color by number. We continued to practice our greetings song and discussed responses to “¿Cómo estás?”.

Music -This week in music class we: Sang a song and bounced a ball to the beat with the song Bounce High Bounce Low *Decoded the rhythms of the song Bounce High Bounce Low *Passed bean bags to a steady beat, and learned partner song called Throw and Catch.

The students are off to a great start with their Fall MAP testing. We completed the reading and math test this week and I made sure to let them know we are now half way done! Next week we will do the language and science portions. They are doing a great job!

With homework lighter during these testing weeks, I’m hoping the students are getting time to read their book report books. The form for this month’s written book review can be found in your child’s Friday Folder tonight. Book reports are due Friday, September 29th. Students will be presenting them to the class and should have their book with them.

Engineers in the making! This was so much harder than it looks. Must hold the large marshmallow on top and only use spaghetti and small marshmallows. The teamwork, collaboration, and acceptance of failure was top notch! STEM for the win once again!

ACADEMICS

Math- In math this week we explored how to break out larger numbers to add, the associative property when adding more than two numbers, and are mastering the concept of rounding and estimating.

Literacy- Students completed their first third grade paragraph. They illustrated these and completed the whole writing process. The new skill of indenting a paragraph, along with topic and supporting sentences, complete with a wrap up sentence was taught. I’m impressed with the outcome! In reading we began the structure of our center time and ran through how that works in third grade. Next week we will dive into Animal Adaptations and our reading books.

Science- Fossils! We did a partner picture sort, reading comprehension page, and will begin with some fun hands on projects next week now that they know what they are and what they are not. We learned from some short science videos online as well.

Religion- We dove into our first unit in our new texts. I’m really excited about this curriculum and the students seem to be engaged and excited. We are experimenting with memory verses every week and they will have an opportunity to recite them to me for a small prize (they choose stickers). In Second Step we learned about building networks in our brains by practicing new skills.

**Here’s the link to the family page on our current chapter: https://enroll.augustineinstitute.org/learn/course/family-faith-formation-gr03-ch01-school/main/family-faith-formation?client=seattle

P.E.–  This week in PE we learned how to strike the ball playing “regular” 4 square and other variations including around the world, war and cherry bomb.  We also discussed the responsibilities of the server and helping everyone understand the game.  

Spanish – Una nota de Señora Anna- This week we practiced a hello song and learned how to respond to “How are you?” in Spanish. We also reviewed colors and listened for color words in context. 

Music – This week in music class we showed high and low pitches with their bodies with the song I Can Sing a High Note, and Personages with Long Ears from the Carnival of the Animals. We practiced switching between different types of singing voices with the song Poor Little Bug. We responded to music by doing a partner mirror activity

Our first TOTB (Think Outside the Box). We do this every Thursday to start our day. I love this and the creativity grows and they impress me every time!

Happy Friday! It was so nice to see all of you at Curriculum Night. Thank you for taking the time to come hear about third grade. I forgot to mention a very important “Thank You” for the cupcake items that you all so generously donated.

The Harvest Festival begins at 2pm this Saturday and I hope to see you there! Activities and food during the day, along with a Spaghetti Feed at 5/6pm, followed by Bingo hosted by our 8th grade class. Join the fun!

MAP Testing begins next week (Tuesday and Thursday). Homework will be on the lighter side for the next two weeks (one item per night).

Sights from our church tour with Father Moore today. I learn something every time!

Spanish– Una nota de Señora Anna- This week in Spanish we began preparing for Hispanic Heritage Month by singing a song called Senorita Mariposa. We learned about the migration of monarch butterflies from Canada to Mexico each fall. We also practiced colors in Spanish with a butterfly color by number.

Art –Butterfly symmetry art. Analogous color: Red-Orange-Yellow / Blue-Green-Purple. Soft chalk pastel technique.

Religion -This week we wrapped up learning all the parts of the Mass and our responses. Brother Francis has a great video on Formed.org if you are interested.

Math -For math this week we talked about rounding to the nearest ten and the nearest hundred. This can be a difficult concept but they are doing great!

Literacy -This week we learned about author’s purpose, making connections (text to text, text to world, text to self), and completing a KWL chart. For writing we are working through the writing process on a persuasive piece.

Science – We continue with problem solving and STEM and did a project today for International Dot Day! They had to construct the tallest tower out of 20 notecards and 20 stickers. Next week we will start our unit on fossils!

*Head to Mod Pizza on September 20th to help our 8th Graders! Mention ACS or give the code MODGIVES20.

Happy Friday! It was a short, yet packed week as we continued to get to know each other and our classroom expectations. We’ve worked on building our “classroom family,” which I will refer to all year. This is truly a delightful group and I’m so excited for the year to come.

Friday Folders -Please locate the folder in your child’s backpack. These will be coming home every week. Please look over the work, your child’s goal, and look for missing work. Reports will be sent home every week. Sign the parent page and send back with your child on Monday. Thank you!

Seesaw – I’m hoping you saw an “invite” email for directions on how to get connected to our class Seesaw. This is a great tool for you to stay connected to both the academics your children is doing (we use it for center work) and also photos and videos of what is happening in class. Your child has a QR code in their folders tonight as well. Please let me know if you need help getting connected.

Book Reports – Each month the students will have a book report. At the beginning of the month they will get a book (at their reading level) approved with me and then spend the month reading it. They will receive the actual book report assignment mid-month and then present them to the class the last week of the month. Students should have a book to show me by Monday, September 11th. If they need, I will take them to the library at recess on Monday.

Literacy – I’m working on completing individual reading assessments. Students have learned how to log into various sites on their Chromebook’s and even typed their sentences for an art project this week. Next week we will begin spelling, cursive, and build the foundations before beginning our reading groups, centers, and routines.

Religion –This week we are building our classroom community and going to be starting with a brief unit on the Mass. We will get a clear understanding of the four parts, the mass responses, and what each part means. You are always welcome to join us on Fridays at 8:15. Students may sit with you.

Math –This week we completed our beginning of the year assessment and began reviewing and solidifying our understanding of place value before we dive into rounding next week. Begin looking for consistent math homework every night.

Social Studies – We have not dove into our first unit yet, but will be exploring maps, regions, directions, continents, and oceans first.

Science -We’ve completed two STEM activities, which involve how to work together, solve a problem, and learn the cycle. They’ve “Saved Fred” and are currently working on creating their dream school with a floorplan, straws, and tape.

PE- This week in PE we practiced walking on the short lines and jogging on the long lines and played two cooperative games called Crazy Card Challenge and Hula Hut Relays.

Spanish- Una nota de Señora Anna- We enjoyed our first two Spanish classes together this week! We practiced introducing ourselves. We also learned about a school in Costa Rica and compared how our schools are similar and different.

Art – Butterfly symmetry art -The students learned about the concept of symmetry, various types of symmetry, and how to apply them in their own artwork.

*Curriculum Night -Please plan on at least one parent attending this Wednesday at 6:00 pm. Mr. Anderson will begin in the gym at 6pm.

*Head to Mod Pizza on September 20th to help our 8th Graders! Mention ACS or give the code MODGIVES20.

*Map Testing Begins September 19th.

*Spaghetti Dinner/Harvest Festival -Saturday, September 16th! Don’t miss this!

*Picture Day -Free Dress –September 27th.

September 1, 2023 

Welcome to the 2023-24 school year.  I am so excited to get to know your child and work the next few weeks building our classroom community. The first day of school we read a book called, Our Class is a Family and we talk in detail about what that means and I truly believe we build a little family away from home. We will get to know each other, learn routines, and dive into positive relationships! 

You might be surprised to know that third grade is typically though of as the most important year in a child’s academic career.  It’s the year that students move from learning to read -decoding words using their knowledge of the alphabet -to reading to learn.  Big changes occur in third grade!  As their teacher, I will be giving them new responsibilities and challenges, in a structured, loving, environment.  

I am here to work with you to make third grade the most successful and “Best Year Ever!”

Communication

I will be primarily using our email group for communication.  Please feel free to email me at any time.  We will also be using Seesaw to share photos and we use this during class for assignments as well.  I’m sure the students have told you they will receive a Chromebook this year.  These will be kept at school and used throughout the day, after coming up with class expectations and signing contracts together.  They will be learning how to check email, tech typing, create PowerPoints, use Canva, and safely utilize the many benefits of technology in 2023.  

Classroom Environment

Our classroom is a safe and welcoming place.  We are family!  We spend every morning gathering together for our morning meeting, which includes a message, chance to greet each other, sharing opportunities, and a fun activity.  I also use a program called Whole Brain Teaching, which you will learn more about at Curriculum Night, but basically celebrate individual growth and improvement. We say it’s a virtual video game and I love to add “funtricity” to everything!

Homework

Students will have homework assigned every Monday through Thursday.  You will notice there is an increase of quantity in third grade.  Please note that I ask that your child to also read for an additional 20 minutes each night.  They will have monthly book reports to complete.  As a parent, lots of encouragement and support is helpful.  They will be spending time memorizing multiplication facts this year, which is a big deal ;).  

We are partners and I’m here to help your child succeed in the best way possible. If you have questions, suggestions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at school (360-733-6133) or the very BEST way to get ahold of me is by email (bwilliams@assumption.school).  

I am confident this is going to be a great year and I’m blessed to partner with you on our child’s education.  Let’s have an amazing third grade year!

Blessings,

Mrs. Williams

Third Day of Third Grade: