WEEK OF DECEMBER 7, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents,

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year with your family.  It is a busy time so I wanted to keep you informed of what is going on in our classroom.

READING - We are continuing to use text features (photos, captions, maps, diagrams, etc.) to comprehend our nonfiction reading.  This week we will also look at digital text to learn how to use text features such as hyperlinks.  Please encourage your child to read nonfiction at home as well.

WRITING -  This week as we begin informational writing, students will begin writing on a topic that interests them.  We will be brainstorming topics in class that students feel they may be an expert on such as soccer, dancing, etc.  We are really trying to focus on writing complete sentences with capitalization and ending punctuation, as well as using our knowledge of spelling patterns from word work to spell correctly.

SOCIAL STUDIES - Students are studying economics and learning new vocabulary words in Mr. Otto's social studies class.

MATH - We are focusing on applying mathematical properties (commutative, associative, and distributive) to solve multiplication and division word problems.  This week we will use our problem solving strategies to solve multi-step problems that involve all the operations.  In class, students have had some meaningful discussions as they analyze the various strategies students use to solve problems.  On Friday, we will have an assessment. 

Please return signed interim reports as soon as possible.  If you would like a copy, just jot me a note, and I will be glad to make you one.

Have a wonderful week.  Thank you for all you do to help your child be successful in school.  

Sincerely,

Ms. Underwood

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 30, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents:

I hope you had a very restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving break with your family.   Thank you to all the parents who provided food for our Thanksgiving Feast last Tuesday.  The students had a great time eating, discussing what they are thankful for, making a craft, and creating a Pilgrim Hat dessert.  Thanks also to Mrs. Purcell for organizing this fun activity for our students.  Listed below is an overview of our upcoming week:

READING - Our focus in reading will now shift to learning strategies for comprehending nonfiction text.  I have placed a leveled nonfiction text in your child's book basket for him/her to read during our literacy time.  Please encourage your child to read nonfiction books at home as well.  We will build upon the use of text features students learned in second grade to do higher level thinking as we comprehend the text.  This week students will learn a strategy called Flip It in which they turn a heading/sub-heading into a question, using text evidence to answer their question.

WRITING - Students will write an opinion piece this week on a topic that they are passionate about and support their opinion with three reasons and supporting details.  I am providing students with constructive feedback on their first opinion paper in order for them to build upon what they learned and write an even stronger piece during this week.

SCIENCE - We will complete our Objects in the Sky unit with a review tomorrow and a test on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, students will return to Mr. Otto's class for Social Studies to begin an economics unit. 

MATH - Students are continuing to practice using multiplication and division strategies to solve word problems.  They are also learning how to determine when to multiply or divide based upon the information given in the word problem.  This week we will focus on the commutative, associative, and distributive math properties as we problem solve.

IMPORTANT DATES:  Tuesday, December 1 - Interims go home

Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood 

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 23, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents,

I know everyone is looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays so that we may rest and spend some fun times with our families.  I wanted to send a brief letter to keep you informed about the upcoming week.

READING - Students have been learning how to compare/contrast the settings and plots of the books they are reading.  I will continue modelling this standard for them using a Venn diagram.  We will also be digging deeper into our books to compare/contrast the themes as well.

WRITING - Students are expected to complete the final drafts of their book review this week.  After the holidays, I plan to give students feedback on their opinion writing and give them the opportunity to write another persuasive piece on an issue of their choice.

SCIENCE - On Friday, students created their own constellations with black paper and sequins.  This week they will write a myth that explains the origin of their constellations. After Thanksgiving, we will culminate our Objects in the Sky unit, and students will return to Mr. Otto's class for Social Studies.  We had a wonderful time on our field trip to the Planetarium this past Wednesday.  I was very proud of the way our students represented Douglas Elementary.

MATH - We will continue to practice multiplication and division strategies.  Please work with your child at home to help him/her become fluent with their multiplication and division facts.

                                               IMPORTANT DATES
                              NOVEMBER 24 - THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION (in our classroom)
       Thank you to Mrs. Purcell, our room mom, for organizing this activity for our students!! 
                              NOVEMBER 25 - TEACHER WORKDAY 
                              NOVEMBER 26 - 27 - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS

Enjoy the holiday break, and be safe in your travels.  

Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 16, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents,

In reading this week, we will compare/contrast the plot and settings of two different books by creating a Venn diagram.  As you converse with your child about his/her reading, please ask questions about character traits (words that describe the personality - ambitious, motivated, determined) vs. character feelings (lonely, ecstatic, furious).  Some students are continuing to learn how to distinguish a trait from a feeling.

During Writing Workshop, students will be completing the final copies of their book reviews.  Students will then take a stance on an issue such as wearing uniforms to school and further practice their writing skills as they support the opinion with reasons/details.  We have been using a graphic organizer in class called OREO.  O = State your opinion.  R= Provide the reasons for your opinion.  E= Give examples and details to support your reasons.  O = Restate your opinion.

This week in math we will complete our unit on equations and inequalities. Students are learning to balance equations by making sure both sides of the equation have the same value.  They are solving for unknowns (represented by a variable - letter or symbol that represents the unknown), as well as creating and solving real world multiplication and division word problems.  We will be testing Tuesday and Wednesday on this unit.

Last week in science, students participated in some fun, hands-on experiences to learn more about light and shadows.  We will continue our study of shadows on Monday, followed by constellations during the remainder of the week.

REMINDERS: 
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18 - FIELD TRIP TO MOREHEAD PLANETARIUM

THURSDAY, NOV. 19 - LITERACY NIGHT - 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. - Come dressed in your cozy pajamas and enjoy some hot chocolate and good books!

FRIDAY, NOV. 20 - SPIRIT DAY - FANCY FRIDAY - Wear your fancy clothes!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Also, if you have not signed up for a parent conference, please email me at dunderwood@wcpss.net, and I will schedule a time to meet with you.  

Thanks for all you do!

Ms. Underwood

"Phrosted Phases" - Learning the Phases of the Moon

Students frosted vanilla wafers with chocolate frosting to represent the phases of the moon they have been learning in class.  What a fun and yummy project!

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 2, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents,

I hope you enjoyed some fun times with your family this past weekend and are rested from the extra hour we gained.  As we prepare for the new week, I wanted to let you know of exciting learning opportunities taking place in our classroom.

READING - I was so impressed with the creative costumes your children designed as they "walked in the shoes" of their characters last week. On Friday they enjoyed sharing summaries of their books, traits of their characters, and lessons learned by their characters.  Students did such a fantastic job digging deeper into their characters' lives, and I am very proud of them.  This week we will be focusing on the setting (where and when), as well as the plot (the important events in the story that include the rising action, climax, falling action, and ending) in our stories.

WRITING - Last week we began opinion writing by learning how to state our opinion and support it with three specific, detailed reasons.  This week we will be writing a review of a favorite book, and I will introduce a graphic organizer to help students organize their writing.  Some of the topics students have enjoyed writing about include opinions of art work, favorite candy bars, and whether recess at school should be increased to 40 minutes and why.

SCIENCE - We are now focusing on the phases of the moon in our "Objects in the Sky" unit.  I have been using a read aloud, videos, and visual representations to help students understand the different phases of the moon and why these phases occur each month. Please remind your child to take a look at the moon each night and record the information on their moon calendar.  I have also assigned a project which is due November 20th.  Your children were very excited about working on the project, so I hope they will enjoy being creative while learning.  This week in science students will be learning about the relationship between the sun, earth, and moon as we explore the concepts of rotation and revolution.  On Friday, we frosted vanilla wafers with chocolate icing to represent the phases of the moon we have learned about.  I will post pictures on the blog soon for you to enjoy.

MATH - We will continue practicing the strategies we have learned to multiply and divide.  Some students are struggling with division.  It would be helpful if you could incorporate multiplication and division into real life applications at home.  For example, pose problems such as "Mom baked 18 cookies.  She is going to give an equal amount to the three children in the family.  How many cookies does each child receive?"  We are also discussing the distributive property of multiplication as a way to decompose or break down facts such as 9 x 7 into (4 x 7) + (5 x 7) to help students more fluently multiply.  On Wednesday we will have an assessment on our multiplication and division unit.

REMINDERS - PBIS ASSEMBLY - Friday, November 6  10:15 - 10:45 a.m.

Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood

WEEK OF OCTOBER 19, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents,

I hope you enjoyed the crisp, fall weather this past weekend.  As we begin a new week, I wanted to let you know what your child is learning in third grade.  I am enjoying teaching your child, and I continue to learn from them each day.

READING - The reading standard that we will continue to practice is determining the central message/lesson/moral in stories and explain how it is conveyed through key details.  This week, I will be sharing folktales (short stories passed down from generation to generation) and myths (a folktale that explains something about nature).  Some of the stories the students will enjoy include" Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears" and "How the Tiger Got His Stripes."  These are very engaging stories that give students the opportunity to read material from other cultures.  

WRITING - This week, we will publish our second personal narrative as we complete our writing unit for the first quarter.  I am impressed with the descriptive details, leads, and bit by bit storytelling that my students are incorporating into their narratives.  They are also excited when one of our higher level vocabulary words is applicable to their story, and they can use it in their writing.  I am teaching students how to use commas in their writing.  Last week, I shared a fun read aloud called Eats, Shoots and Leaves to show how the placement of that tiny punctuation mark called the comma can change the whole meaning of a sentence.

SOCIAL STUDIES - Students are finishing up a travel brochure in Mr. Otto's class this week.  It is due by Friday!!  Next Monday, we will begin our new science unit entitled, "Objects in the Sky."  We will be exploring our solar system and building background knowledge in preparation for our field trip to the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center on November 18.

MATH - I am proud of the conceptual understanding of multiplication my students are building as we have explored various strategies for multiplying:  repeated addition, equal groups drawings, arrays, and making visual drawings.  The focus has been on equal groups, sets, and rows (in the case of arrays).  We have also made the connection that multiplication and division are inverse operations.  Students are working on determining when to multiply or divide in a word problem.  Last week we had fun writing our own multiplication and division word problems using real life applications.  This Tuesday, we will have an assessment on multiplication and division in order for me to determine where additional support may be needed.

REMINDERS - Monday, October 19 - Field Trip Permission Slips Due
                         Friday, October 23 - Spirit Day - Hat Day
                         Monday, October 26 - Teacher Workday - No School For Students
                         Tuesday, November 10 - Payment For Field Trip Due
                         Wednesday, November 18 - Field Trip To Morehead Planetarium
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood

WEEK OF OCTOBER 12, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents:

Listed below is an overview of our upcoming week.  Thank you for all of your support!

READING - In reading, we will be enjoying fables as we learn to determine the central message (also called the moral or lesson) of these stories.  This work involves a higher level of thinking.  Please make sure that your child is reading good fit books at home, and question him/her about the central message in his/her book.

WRITING - This past week, students generated ideas for their second personal narrative by thinking of strong feelings, as well as first times/last times.  Students will write a narrative that has an interesting lead that "hooks" the reader.  They will add vivid details while telling not only the external story (what happened), but also the internal story (feelings).  They are always eager to share the writing they completed during Writer's Workshop, and I am grateful for their enthusiasm.

SOCIAL STUDIES -  Students are creating a travel brochure in Mr. Otto's class as they learn about the regions of North Carolina.  They are really enjoying the discussions in Social Studies.

MATH - We will continue to focus on the conceptual understanding of multiplication this week. Students have had fun playing a game called Circles and Stars which reinforces the idea of equal groups.  Example:  5 x 3 is 5 groups of 3 or 5 sets of 3 or 3+3+3+3+3=15 or 3 x 5 = 15. Continue to talk with your child at home about real life examples of equal groups.  Eggs are packaged in groups of 12, for example.

REMINDERS -  Oct. 16 - Spirit Friday - Wear pink for breast cancer awareness.
                           Oct. 16 - Early Release Day
                           Nov. 18 - Third Grade Field Trip to Morehead Planetarium and Science Center
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood

WEEK OF OCTOBER 5, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents,

I hope everyone was able to rest and have some fun, family time over the rainy weekend.  Maybe we will see the sunshine this week!

Please check out our classroom blog.  I posted some great pics of your children!

Listed below are some updates about the upcoming week.

READING - Last week in reading, students walked in the shoes of their characters by focusing on the emotions (feelings) the character was experiencing, as well as the motivation (the why) for those feelings.  This week, we will be taking a look at the traits of our characters.  Distinguishing between character emotions and traits can be confusing for third graders.  Feelings are fleeting feelings a character may be having due to an outside force (frustrated, anxious, nervous) whereas traits describe who a character is on the inside - their personality (determined, dependable, curious).  I will also share some fun read alouds this week to help students distinguish their own point of view from that of the character in the story.

WRITING - Students should be wrapping up their first personal narrative.  This week, we will continue our study of narrative writing using mentor texts.  Students will identify techniques that writers use to hook readers in their books (writing interesting beginnings), as well as identify turning points in stories.  They will then practice writing a personal narrative, including a turning point in their own story.

SOCIAL STUDIES - Last week my third graders started learning about the geography and regions of NC with Mr. Otto.  For the next few weeks, they will be taught Social Studies by Mr. Otto while I teach Mr. Otto's students Science.

MATH - On Tuesday we will have an assessment on 2-D shapes and their attributes. We will play a fun review game on Monday to help students prepare for the assessment.  Our next unit in math will be focused on a conceptual understanding of multiplication rather than rote memorization of facts.  This week we will explore the relationship between repeated addition and multiplication.  I am including the parent resource letter in today's Monday folder to give you resources for how this unit is being taught in case your child needs support at home.

CogAt TESTING - Third graders will take the CogAt assessment on October, 6th, 7th, and 9th at 9:30 a.m.  This test will determine those students who may qualify for academically gifted services.  Please make sure your child has a hearty breakfast and gets a good night of rest before the testing days.

PICTURE DAY - Our class will have their pictures made on Wednesday, October 7 at 1:50 p.m.  Pictures must be prepaid, so if you are interested in ordering, please send your payment in as soon as possible.

BOG INFORMATION - I am sending home detailed information regarding your child's BOG reading score in today's Monday folder.  Please know that I will be working with your child this year in guided reading and strategy groups to help them grow as readers.  Also, I am including a wonderful resource entitled "Read to Achieve Passage Parent Recommendations" that will help you as you converse with your child about his/her reading.  This resource aligns the standard we are studying with questions you can ask to reinforce that standard.  

Wow!  Lots of information and wonderful things happening at Douglas!!  Thank you so much for all you do to help your child at home.  It is a pleasure to work with you and your child!.

Ms. Underwood  

   

Dancing Geometry Vocabulary

It may be raining outside, but students in Ms. Underwood's third grade class are not letting the weather dampen their spirits.  Mrs. Eleczko, one of our instructional coaches, and Ms. Underwood co-taught students how to create dance movements to represent the meanings of vocabulary words learned during our unit on shapes and their attributes.  Students were very creative and had a blast dancing the vocabulary!!

PASTA SKELETONS

During our Human Body unit in science, students learned how the skeletal and muscular systems, as well as the joints help the body move.  They had fun making pasta skeletons to culminate this unit.

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents:

I hope you had a restful weekend.  Listed below is an overview of our upcoming week.

WRITING - Students are continuing to revise their personal narratives to "show rather than tell" and to include "juicy" details that will help the reader visualize what is happening in the story.  Students have learned to write a lead that will "hook" the reader by beginning with action, dialogue, or setting. I have enjoyed conferencing with your children and learning more about them through their stories.

READING - This week in reading we will begin our Character Study unit.  Students will be placing themselves in the shoes of the character by taking a closer look at the emotions, motivations, and traits of the character.  As we study our characters, we will also be practicing fluency and expression while we read the text as the author would say it, conveying the meaning or feeling.  I am excited about the texts I will be sharing with students this week as we take a more in depth look at our characters.  We have also begun our vocabulary lessons.  Students enjoyed the fable about the sly fox and the little red hen while learning the words sly, mend, peer, shriek, prepared, and dependable.  

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES - On Monday, we will conclude our assessment on the Human Body and finish creating our pasta skeletons.  Tuesday, my class will rotate to Mr. Otto for Social Studies while I teach his class Science.  Students will be learning about the three regions of North Carolina (Piedmont, Coastal, and Mountains) in Mr. Otto's class.

MATH - In math this week, students will continue to compare/contrast the attributes of various 2-D shapes.  There are many hands-on learning activities students will be involved in to help them understand the characteristics of these shapes.  We are even going to incorporate dance into our math as students create movements to represent the vocabulary associated with these 2-D shapes.  I learned about this kinesthetic type of learning in our professional development workshop on Wednesday, and I am anxious to try it out in my class.  Mrs. Eleczko will be helping me!   

IMPORTANT DATES - 

SEPTEMBER 28 - Third Grade Parent Meeting for CogAt Testing - 5:30 p.m. - Media Center

OCTOBER 1 - ARTS NIGHT - 5:00 - 7:30 p.m.

OCTOBER 6th, 7th, 9th - Third Grade CogAt Testing

Sincerely,

Ms. Underwood

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 NEWS

Dear Parents:

     I hope you enjoyed the beautiful weekend and had some quality time with your family.  Listed below is information about the upcoming week.

READING - I am so excited that reading assessments are completed, and I can now focus on conferencing and working with my students in small groups.  This week we will continue to use context clues to figure out the meanings of unknown words we encounter in our reading.  Your children have been so eager to share the words they are finding in their reading, as well as the strategies (back up and re-read, look for a synonym, guess a sensible word, etc.) and clues they are using to figure out the meanings.  Students will also fine tune procedures we have learned regarding read to self, turning and talking, as well as choosing good fit books. 

WRITING -  Last week students worked on writing a lead that will hook the readers as they continued developing their personal narrative stories.  I am modeling my expectations for writing as I share my own personal narrative about a surprise at the bath house when my family went camping a few summers ago.  I hope to have our stories published by Friday.

SCIENCE - We are going to explore how the nervous system directs the movements of the skeletal and muscular systems of our bodies.  Tomorrow students will conduct a fun experiment to test their response time to a visual stimulus.  We will also explore the function of the skin through a couple of hands-on activities.  Students will also have the opportunity to culminate this unit by creating a pasta skeleton, and on Friday I plan to give an assessment on the human body unit.

MATH - This week in math we will be understanding that 2D shapes in different categories (rectangles, rhombuses, squares, etc.) may share attributes (features), and the shared attributes can define a larger category.  As an example, shapes with four sides belong to a larger category of shapes called quadrilaterals.  We will use geoboards to make visual representations of these shapes as we understand the various attributes (parallel sides, congruent sides, etc.).  We will even be tying in our art smart way of learning as we identify these shapes in artwork.

IMPORTANT DATES -  Wednesday, September 23, is a Teacher Workday - No school for students

                                          Friday, September 25 - Spirit Day  - NFL Football

Thank you for all of your support!

Sincerely,

Donna H. Underwood

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 NEWS

September 14, 2015


Dear Parents:


In reading this week, students will continue to ask questions before, during, and after reading in order to comprehend text and stay engaged in their reading.  We will specifically be focusing on nonfiction books as we question.  Students will also learn strategies to determine the meanings of unknown words they encounter in their reading.  In Writer's Workshop, we will be choosing small "seed" stories to write about rather than "watermelon" topics.  I am enjoying getting to know your children through their writing.  We have begun our rounding unit in math as students learn to round to the nearest 10 and nearest 100.  They are learning to distinguish that rounding is a form of estimation.  Incorporate estimation in everyday life by asking your child questions such as, "The video is 37 minutes long.  About how long is it rounded to the nearest 10 minutes?"  In science, students will focus on the joints, as well as the muscular and nervous systems, while engaged in hands-on learning.


Behavior Folders - During the first two weeks of school students have been learning and practicing the routines and procedures within our classroom.  Now that students are settling in, I would like to keep you informed of your child's work habits and conduct.  In today's Monday Folder, you will find your child's behavior folder.  This folder will serve as a weekly progress report to relay to you your child's work habits and conduct for the previous week.  Please review the behavior folder with your child, sign it, and then return it the following day.


Spirit Friday - This Friday, September 18, is wear your favorite college gear.


I look forward to another exciting week of learning with your child!


Sincerely,


Donna H. Underwood





  

***REMINDER***

Parents,

If you think you would like to chaperone any of our third grade field trips this year, please make sure that you have gone through the volunteer process with Wake County Public Schools.  You must be an approved volunteer in order to chaperone, and this process may take a few weeks.  Thank you!

WEEK of SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 NEWS

September 8, 2015

Dear Parents:

I am continuing to enjoy getting to know your child as we create a positive learning environment within our classroom.  It is a very rewarding experience for me to have the opportunity to help your child grow academically, socially, and emotionally.

Listed below are a few pieces of information I wanted to call to your attention:

Curriculum – In reading this week we will continue to ask before, during, and after reading questions to comprehend text with the focus being on nonfiction books.  Students will also learn ways to use context clues in order to determine the meanings of unknown words.  During Writer’s Workshop, students will be writing a true, small moment story.  In math we will continue practicing strategies to add and subtract numbers within 1000.  The focus this week will be on carefully analyzing word problems in order to figure out whether to add or subtract.  Students will be engaged in some fun hands-on activities in science to explore the various types of joints within our skeletal system.

Open House – Douglas Elementary will be holding Open House on Thursday, September 10.  Third grade parents are invited to learn more about the Read to Achieve Program from 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.  Following this session, please feel free to come to our classroom, Room 3124, to hear more information regarding third grade curriculum, field trips, etc.  For your convenience, two sessions will be held from 6:00 – 6:45 and 6:45 – 7:30 p.m.  You may attend either one.

Highlights Magazine Subscription – I am also including a special school offer to subscribe to Highlights magazine.  Highlights is a fun magazine that offers activities to make children think, crafts that spark creativity, fiction and nonfiction reading, as well as games and puzzles to build learning skills.  By checking yes or no on the yellow form, you can help our classroom earn a free gift. 

                                                                                                            
Upcoming Dates 
  

Wednesday, Sept. 9 – Beginning of Grade Test – Reading only – Please make sure your child gets a good night’s rest and eats a hearty breakfast in preparation for the test.  The test will begin at 9:30 a.m.  I am encouraging my students to give their best and to not get stressed about this assessment.

Friday, Sept. 11 – Wear red, white, and blue in remembrance of 9/11.

Enjoy the upcoming week, and I hope to see you at Open House.

Sincerely,

Donna H. Underwood

 

 

WEEK of AUGUST 31, 2015 NEWS

August 31, 2015                                                                                               

 

Dear Parents:

The start of the new school year has been a successful one.  I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know your child through hands-on activities (using play-dough, gummy worms, and drama) to establish a sense of community.  I am very excited about the learning experiences your child will participate in and look forward to a productive school year.

CURRICULUM

Last week we learned the procedures and expectations of our “Daily 5” program for literacy.  Students are doing a wonderful job practicing read to self while at the same time building their stamina for reading.  They have been asking questions before, during, and after reading to engage them in their reading and help them comprehend.  We will focus on more strategies this week such as back up and reread, as well as check for understanding to aid our comprehension of text.  Our focus in math has been on reviewing various methods to fluently add and subtract within 1000.  These methods include place value drawings, show all totals, and expanded form.  We have also been working on “math talk” in the classroom because it is important that students be able to explain the process of their problem solving rather than just give an answer.  This week we will focus on the number line strategy as another method to add and subtract.  We began our first unit of study in Science today which is the human body.  There are many fun, hands-on activities planned in this unit (making pasta skeletons, assembling Mr. Bones, etc.) to help students understand the skeletal and muscular systems within the human body.

HOMEWORK

Students should be writing their homework assignments in their agendas.  Agendas may be purchased for $3.00.  Your child should be bringing home his/her math and homework binder nightly.  This binder contains his/her agenda, the green Douglas folder containing homework, and the math focus lessons.  Homework is consistent throughout third grade and consists of one math page and a reading log which needs to be signed nightly (Monday – Thursday), acknowledging that your child read 20 minutes and checked for comprehension that evening. 

COMMUNICATION

 I am always happy to talk to you about any questions or concerns you may have about your child.  Please do not hesitate to send a letter, write a note in the agenda, call the school (919-881-4894), or email me at dunderwood@wcpss.net.  I think it is very important to keep the lines of communication open between home and school in order to create a positive learning environment for your child.  Folders will be sent home every Monday to inform you of your child’s progress, important events, and upcoming dates.   Please take the time to review the information/class work/homework with your child.  Please feel free to keep the papers in the folder other than those that specify to be returned.  I am also in the process of updating our class website.  This classroom blog will serve as another means of communication between home and school.  I have some really cool pictures of your children during our first week of school activities that I would like to post.   Once I receive all the photo permission forms, I will be updating my blog for this school year.

SNACK

Students are allowed to bring a healthy snack such as fruit, veggies, or granola bars since our class eats lunch at 1:15 p.m.  Students are eating their snack around 11:00 a.m. while instruction continues and before leaving for Specials. 

SCHEDULE

  Ms. Underwood’s third grade schedule is as follows:

8:45 – 9:15      Arrival and Morning Responsibilities

9:15 – 9:30      Morning Meeting

9:30 – 11:20    Literacy                                                                                                     SPECIALS

11:20 – 12:15 Specials                                                                                                 A Day – P.E.

12:20 – 1:05    Science/Social Studies                                                                    B Day - Science

1:05 – 1:15      Read Aloud                                                                                       C Day - Art

1:15 – 1:45      Lunch                                                                                                     D Day - Dance

1:50 - 3:05      Math                                                                                                       E Day - Drama

3:10 – 3:40      Recess                                                                                                   F Day – Music

3:45 -                Dismissal

UPCOMING DATES

9/4 – Early Release – Students released at 1:15 p.m. / Spirit Day – Dress from the 80’s

9/7 – Labor Day Holiday – No School

9/9 – Beginning of Grade Assessment

9/10 – Read to Achieve Meeting – 3^rd Grade Parents – 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.  Open House – 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Thank you for the classroom donations of tissues, wipes, copy paper, expo markers, etc.  These supplies are definitely needed, and I appreciate your generosity.  I am very grateful for the opportunity to teach your child.  I look forward to helping your child grow academically and develop the skills needed to function effectively in our global society.

Sincerely,

Donna H. Underwood

INTEGRATING ART AND SCIENCE: CREATING SEED MOSAICS

In science, Ms. Flowers' and Ms. Underwood's classes have been studying the parts of a seed and how plants develop from a seed. We had a good time using various types of seeds to create beautiful mosaics.