September Updates

Upcoming Dates:

Decatur Picnic 10:00-12:00  Decatur turf

Star 360 Reading Test 106/110

Star 360 Math Test 106/110

Curriculum Night 5:00-7:00

 

We had a wonderful week two in 3rd grade! 

 

During our reading block we worked on reading text and responding to prompts. I want the student to understand that while they read, they are making connections and thinking about what they are reading. We did our first annotations as a whole group. We read text about Roald Dahl and made notes together on the paper about important information, interesting vocabulary and connections to ourselves. I am so excited to continue this practice with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I know many kids know the story already but we are going to take a deep dive into character traits, cause and effect, summarizing, vocabulary and more. 

 

We are drafting our first narrative during Writers' Workshop. The story will be set in an amusement park. This week we spent time on the story arc and began the process of writing a lead. The class is learning to take their time with the writing process and understand that changes and revisions are an important part of the process. 

 

We had our first quiz in Social Studies on Friday. We completed Unit 1 Lesson 1. Students learned about their type community, the regions of the US and where the Midwest region excels. The students learned the states that border Illinois and how our western border in the Mississippi river. 

 

Next week we will take the Star 360 test. Please remember that this is the first time these kids will take this particular test. The score should be considered a baseline where they can grow throughout their time in school!

 

Thank you to all who attended Curriculum Night. It was great to meet so many parents. I have attached the presentation for those who were unable to attend. It is linked on a separate tab so you can find it quickly. 

 

In reading we began our novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! The kids have really enjoyed it and have already started annotating their books with high quality thoughts. We spent the week talking about character traits, which we will do more extensively next week. We also spent time on word choice and descriptive language. Roald Dahl uses phrases like, "great slabs of chocolate" and "mouth watering like mad" to show the extent at which Charlie loves chocolate and how he can't have it. On Friday we had a quiz on vocabulary and comprehension. Fridays will typically be our assessment days. Our vocabulary words for this past week were greedily, colossal, cleverest, deserted, absurd and astonishing.

 

We worked out writing our leads for our narrative paragraphs. The students learned that the lead should let the reader know the main character and setting. They should also use sounds to give more detail and make the writing more interesting. 

 

In Social Studies we finished Unit 1 Lesson 2. Students learned about landforms and physical features of Chicago. They also were able to say how we use Lake Michigan and different landforms in every day life. 

Tuesday 9/24 - Class Picture Day

Thursday 9/26 - Progress Reports sent home

Friday 9/27 - No School for Students

 

Students had a great week. They got to go go to the Library for the first time. If you have an old library book at home, please send it to school with your child. 

 

Students reviewed the difference between a proper noun and a common noun. They know to capitalize proper nouns within a sentence. We also learned more about character traits. Students identified that they can learn a character's traits by what the character says, what he/she does and what others say about the character. We described characters in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory based on what they say, do and what others say. We identified internal and external traits. 

 

Students focused on the following vocabulary words from the text for this week: hooligan, jostling, sly, frantically, vaguely and criticize. 

 

We started to draft the middle part of our narratives. The lessons the students completed was about adding 'speed' transition words. How a character is acting can 'show' not 'tell' the story. 

 

During Social Studies, 3rd graders are learning about natural resources in our community. How we use the land, water and minerals to survive. We are incorporating art into our learning. This week students made a mural showing our natural resources. Next week they will finish Unit 1 with a pamphlet that 'sells' Chicago. 

 

 

 

We had a packed week with our novel, writing and earning an incentive for great behavior. We also completed Unit 1 in Social Studies and will work on our final assessment through next week. 

 

During Language Arts we spent time on how to summarize text. Students learned that a summary should include the main characters, setting, what the character wants and how they overcome the problem. We used the story Ruth and the Green Book to practice summarizing. We will revisit summarizing again this quarter to continue practicing the skill. What information is important vs what is just fun or interesting. We talk about this a lot with our novel. Does the chapter move the plot forward? If not, why did the author include it in the book? In CATCF we read that Willy Wonka read about Charlie Bucket in the newspaper. He tells Charlie that information directly. We made the inference that Willy Wonka probably read about the other 4 children as well. We are going to use that inference as we continue to read to decide if Willy Wonka is purposely leading the ticket finders to tempting situations. We will search for clues in the text. 

 

We will publish our narrative writing next week. We have spent a lot of time going over each part of the story. The lead, establishing setting and character, the obstacle, overcoming the obstacle and the lesson learned. I am looking forward to seeing the final products and celebrating their work. 

 

We finished Unit 1 in Social Studies. Students are making a brochure that will show their learning from lessons 1-3. I want them to take their time so they will have a few days next week to finish their project.