Dear Parents,
I hope you were able to rest and enjoy the weekend. Spring Break is almost here! In the meantime, here are some updates for our coming week:
Reading - This week in reading, students will continue identifying the ways in which texts are structured (chronological order, cause/effect, compare/contrast, etc.). Students will also be practicing distinguishing their own point of view from that of the narrator, characters, or author. Our third grade team has chosen some engaging texts on Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm to use for our lessons to engage our students. These texts come from the Achieve 3000 program and will be on your child's reading level.
Writing - Students wrote some very creative and interesting stories during our Writer in Residence program. We are going to further develop those stories during our realistic fiction unit as students add more descriptive details to "show" rather than "tell" their stories.
Social Studies - Mr. Otto is teaching students about why the European settlers came to America and the effect of their arrival upon the people already living in America.
Math - Students are working hard in math to understand the concepts of fractions. Last week, we focused upon the definition of a fraction (an equal part of a whole), as well as the difference between the numerator and the denominator. Students used graham crackers to understand that the size of the whole is important, and they also created mystery fractions to understand the difference between the numerator and the denominator. We will continue our study of fractions this week by partitioning number lines into equal parts.
IMPORTANT DATES
Monday, March 7 - Variety Show Auditions - 4:30 p.m.
Friday, March 11 - Field Trip to Wake Forest High School to see a play
Friday, March 11 - Mad Scientist Program - 2:15 p.m.
Friday, March 11 - March Madness Spirit Day - Dress to represent your team
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Sunday, February 28, 2016
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 29, 2016 NEWS
Dear Parents,
Listed below is an overview of our plans for the upcoming week. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Informance this past Friday. I was very proud of our third graders and the hard work they put into preparing for their performance. They did a fantastic job!
READING - Students will continue deepening their comprehension of text by identifying the connection between paragraphs, as well as sentences within a text. These connections include sequence of events, cause/effect, problem/solution, among others. This week, I will share an inspirational read aloud about Wilma Rudolph's life. Students will sequence the events in her life, as well as determine what lessons they can learn from her. Students will also be learning how to distinguish their own point of view from that of the author or character.
WRITING - Last week, students enjoyed learning writing techniques from our Writer in Residence, Mrs. Silcox. They chose old black and white photographs from Mrs. Silcox's collection as inspiration for their story idea. Mrs. Silcox will return on Wednesday to make up a session we lost last week due to the severe weather early release. I am excited to read the finished products.
SOCIAL STUDIES - Students will continue their study of colonization with Mr. Otto this week.
MATH - I am excited to say that we begin a new math unit on fractions on Monday. I will be using graham crackers tomorrow to help students understand that the size of the whole in a fraction is very important. If the size of the whole is not the same, then the fractions are not the same. This week, we will also focus on the difference between the numerator and denominator, as well as unit fractions (fractions whose numerator is 1). Please try to make real life applications to fractions at home, especially when cooking. For example, it takes four fourths to make a whole cup.
IMPORTANT DATES -
Monday, February 29 - Friday, March 4 - Read Across America Week - Monday is wear a silly hat day. Your child has a notice with the attire for the rest of the week.
Thursday, March 3 - Science Night 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 4 - Early Release
Monday, March 7 - Variety Show Auditions - 4:30 p.m.
Friday, March 11 - Field Trip to Wake Forest High School to view a play
March 14 - 22 - Jump Rope for Heart
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
Listed below is an overview of our plans for the upcoming week. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Informance this past Friday. I was very proud of our third graders and the hard work they put into preparing for their performance. They did a fantastic job!
READING - Students will continue deepening their comprehension of text by identifying the connection between paragraphs, as well as sentences within a text. These connections include sequence of events, cause/effect, problem/solution, among others. This week, I will share an inspirational read aloud about Wilma Rudolph's life. Students will sequence the events in her life, as well as determine what lessons they can learn from her. Students will also be learning how to distinguish their own point of view from that of the author or character.
WRITING - Last week, students enjoyed learning writing techniques from our Writer in Residence, Mrs. Silcox. They chose old black and white photographs from Mrs. Silcox's collection as inspiration for their story idea. Mrs. Silcox will return on Wednesday to make up a session we lost last week due to the severe weather early release. I am excited to read the finished products.
SOCIAL STUDIES - Students will continue their study of colonization with Mr. Otto this week.
MATH - I am excited to say that we begin a new math unit on fractions on Monday. I will be using graham crackers tomorrow to help students understand that the size of the whole in a fraction is very important. If the size of the whole is not the same, then the fractions are not the same. This week, we will also focus on the difference between the numerator and denominator, as well as unit fractions (fractions whose numerator is 1). Please try to make real life applications to fractions at home, especially when cooking. For example, it takes four fourths to make a whole cup.
IMPORTANT DATES -
Monday, February 29 - Friday, March 4 - Read Across America Week - Monday is wear a silly hat day. Your child has a notice with the attire for the rest of the week.
Thursday, March 3 - Science Night 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 4 - Early Release
Monday, March 7 - Variety Show Auditions - 4:30 p.m.
Friday, March 11 - Field Trip to Wake Forest High School to view a play
March 14 - 22 - Jump Rope for Heart
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
Sunday, February 21, 2016
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 22,, 2016 NEWS
Dear Parents,
Listed below is an overview of the upcoming week to keep you informed about the learning that is taking place in our classroom. Please let me know if you have any questions.
READING - In literacy this week, we will begin reading biographies, paying close attention to the sequence of events in the person's life, as well as why those events happened and the effect they had on the person. I will be modeling my lessons using a text about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Students will be making written responses in their reading notebooks following my lessons in order to strengthen their written expression.
WRITING - We have a special treat this week as our Writer in Residence will be working with all third grade students. She will be teaching my class from 12:20 - 1:10 each day. I am excited to see the writing pieces our students will be creating this week. We will also work on our realistic fiction stories as time allows this week. Students are working on a seven sentence story to create the foundation of their realistic stories. They have come up with some interesting ideas.
SCIENCE - We had a blast last week in science making oobleck, picking up ice with a string, and observing the amazing water trick (to understand the flow of heat energy). Students will take an assessment on the Changes in Matter unit on Monday. On Tuesday they begin a unit on colonization in Social Studies with Mr. Otto.
MATH - We will spend one more week on learning the concepts of area and perimeter of 2-D shapes. Our unit assessment will be on Friday, and then we move on to our fraction unit. Please continue to help your child practice his/her multiplication facts.
IMPORTANT DATES
February 22 - 26 - Third Grade Writer in Residence
February 23 - Interims go home
February 26 - 10:00 a.m. - Third Grade Informance
February 26 - Dress like an Idiom Spirit Day
March 3 - Science Night and Science Fair
March 11 - Field Trip to Wake Forest High School Matinee Program
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
Listed below is an overview of the upcoming week to keep you informed about the learning that is taking place in our classroom. Please let me know if you have any questions.
READING - In literacy this week, we will begin reading biographies, paying close attention to the sequence of events in the person's life, as well as why those events happened and the effect they had on the person. I will be modeling my lessons using a text about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Students will be making written responses in their reading notebooks following my lessons in order to strengthen their written expression.
WRITING - We have a special treat this week as our Writer in Residence will be working with all third grade students. She will be teaching my class from 12:20 - 1:10 each day. I am excited to see the writing pieces our students will be creating this week. We will also work on our realistic fiction stories as time allows this week. Students are working on a seven sentence story to create the foundation of their realistic stories. They have come up with some interesting ideas.
SCIENCE - We had a blast last week in science making oobleck, picking up ice with a string, and observing the amazing water trick (to understand the flow of heat energy). Students will take an assessment on the Changes in Matter unit on Monday. On Tuesday they begin a unit on colonization in Social Studies with Mr. Otto.
MATH - We will spend one more week on learning the concepts of area and perimeter of 2-D shapes. Our unit assessment will be on Friday, and then we move on to our fraction unit. Please continue to help your child practice his/her multiplication facts.
IMPORTANT DATES
February 22 - 26 - Third Grade Writer in Residence
February 23 - Interims go home
February 26 - 10:00 a.m. - Third Grade Informance
February 26 - Dress like an Idiom Spirit Day
March 3 - Science Night and Science Fair
March 11 - Field Trip to Wake Forest High School Matinee Program
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
Monday, February 15, 2016
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 15, 2016 NEWS
Dear Parents,
I hope you enjoyed the extra day at home we received due to our winter weather. As we begin our week, listed below is some helpful information:
READING - We will continue reading mysteries, poems, and dramas to determine how chapters, stanzas, and scenes build upon one another. Students will also be asking and answering questions about their reading to monitor comprehension.
WRITING - Students will begin recognizing the characteristics of realistic fiction as I share a read aloud with them tomorrow. They will begin to connect moments from their own lives as ideas for their own realistic fiction stories. Some students still need to complete their informational papers from the previous unit and may need to work on this at home.
SCIENCE - This past week, students observed physical changes in matter by soaking gummy bears in water and making rootbeer floats. They also performed some hands-on labs to determine the factors that affect the speed at which a solid will dissolve. This week, we will challenge our thinking through more cool experiments. This unit will be winding down by the beginning of next week.
MATH - Students will continue their conceptual understanding of area and perimeter as they work with more rectilinear figures and arrays. Area and perimeter is an important part of the third grade math curriculum, so it would be helpful if you could reinforce these concepts at home by applying them to real life (discussing the area of the rug or the amount of border that would be needed to go around the bedroom which is perimeter).
IMPORTANT DATES
Friday, February 22 - 26 - Third Grade Writer in Residence
Tuesday, February 23 - Interims go home
Friday, February 26 - Third Grade Informance - 10:00 a.m.
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
I hope you enjoyed the extra day at home we received due to our winter weather. As we begin our week, listed below is some helpful information:
READING - We will continue reading mysteries, poems, and dramas to determine how chapters, stanzas, and scenes build upon one another. Students will also be asking and answering questions about their reading to monitor comprehension.
WRITING - Students will begin recognizing the characteristics of realistic fiction as I share a read aloud with them tomorrow. They will begin to connect moments from their own lives as ideas for their own realistic fiction stories. Some students still need to complete their informational papers from the previous unit and may need to work on this at home.
SCIENCE - This past week, students observed physical changes in matter by soaking gummy bears in water and making rootbeer floats. They also performed some hands-on labs to determine the factors that affect the speed at which a solid will dissolve. This week, we will challenge our thinking through more cool experiments. This unit will be winding down by the beginning of next week.
MATH - Students will continue their conceptual understanding of area and perimeter as they work with more rectilinear figures and arrays. Area and perimeter is an important part of the third grade math curriculum, so it would be helpful if you could reinforce these concepts at home by applying them to real life (discussing the area of the rug or the amount of border that would be needed to go around the bedroom which is perimeter).
IMPORTANT DATES
Friday, February 22 - 26 - Third Grade Writer in Residence
Tuesday, February 23 - Interims go home
Friday, February 26 - Third Grade Informance - 10:00 a.m.
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
Sunday, February 7, 2016
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 8, 2016 NEWS
Dear Parents,
Listed below is the plan for the upcoming week!
READING - Students will be referring to parts of stories, dramas, and poems using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza. They will be describing how each successive part builds on earlier sections as they participate in fun activities such as writing their own stanza to a poem entitled "Selfie." I think students will enjoy the poems, dramas, and read alouds we will be using this week in our minilessons. We will transition back to Word Work for the upcoming week. Our words this week are buy, didn't, general, one, sometimes, and something. Students will chant the words in various ways, as well as practice using these words in Word Work lessons.
WRITING - In Writer's Workshop, we will revise and edit our informational papers we have been writing based on animal research. Final drafts will be written hopefully by the middle of the week, and then we will move on to realistic fiction writing.
SCIENCE - This past week in science we had a melting race with ice, melted crayons, melted a pumpkin (Ask your child about this one.), created a cloud in a jar, cleaned pennies with vinegar and salt, blew up a balloon with vinegar and baking soda, and baked a cake in a cup as we explored changes in matter, as well as physical vs. chemical reactions. More fun experiments are planned this week.
MATH - In math, we will continue our study of area and perimeter. Students will be designing their own clubhouse using centimeter graph paper. They will also calculate the area and perimeter of the rooms in their clubhouse. Please reinforce area as the amount of surface covered or enclosed by a figure measured in square units and perimeter is the distance around the outside of the shape.
IMPORTANT DATES
February 10 - Boosterthon Fun Run
February 12 - Early Release Day
February 12 - School Dance
February 15 - Snow Make-up Day
February 26 - Science/Dance/Music Informance - 10:00 a.m. **** I made a mistake on last week's newsletter and put the date of this event as February 12. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
Listed below is the plan for the upcoming week!
READING - Students will be referring to parts of stories, dramas, and poems using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza. They will be describing how each successive part builds on earlier sections as they participate in fun activities such as writing their own stanza to a poem entitled "Selfie." I think students will enjoy the poems, dramas, and read alouds we will be using this week in our minilessons. We will transition back to Word Work for the upcoming week. Our words this week are buy, didn't, general, one, sometimes, and something. Students will chant the words in various ways, as well as practice using these words in Word Work lessons.
WRITING - In Writer's Workshop, we will revise and edit our informational papers we have been writing based on animal research. Final drafts will be written hopefully by the middle of the week, and then we will move on to realistic fiction writing.
SCIENCE - This past week in science we had a melting race with ice, melted crayons, melted a pumpkin (Ask your child about this one.), created a cloud in a jar, cleaned pennies with vinegar and salt, blew up a balloon with vinegar and baking soda, and baked a cake in a cup as we explored changes in matter, as well as physical vs. chemical reactions. More fun experiments are planned this week.
MATH - In math, we will continue our study of area and perimeter. Students will be designing their own clubhouse using centimeter graph paper. They will also calculate the area and perimeter of the rooms in their clubhouse. Please reinforce area as the amount of surface covered or enclosed by a figure measured in square units and perimeter is the distance around the outside of the shape.
IMPORTANT DATES
February 10 - Boosterthon Fun Run
February 12 - Early Release Day
February 12 - School Dance
February 15 - Snow Make-up Day
February 26 - Science/Dance/Music Informance - 10:00 a.m. **** I made a mistake on last week's newsletter and put the date of this event as February 12. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
Sunday, January 31, 2016
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 1, 2016 NEWS
Dear Parents,
It is hard to believe that we are already into our third quarter of the school year. The weeks seem to be flying by as we stay busy with all the fun activities going on at our school. I am listing below some information regarding our curriculum and upcoming events for the week ahead. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
READING - Students are enjoying learning about the elements of mysteries and some of the specific vocabulary (suspects, alibi, red herring, etc.) specific to this genre. Last week, we read some one minute mysteries and used our inferring skills to solve these mysteries. I have encouraged your child to check a mystery out of the class library or school library so that they may practice the skills they are learning in their own book. This week, I will be sharing a couple of fun mystery read alouds entitled Grandpa's Teeth and Private I. Guana to help my students understand the elements of mysteries. The mid-year reading assessments are almost completed, and I will be sending a letter home soon to let you know your child's fluency and comprehension levels at this point in the year.
WRITING - Students are now writing the rough draft of their animal informational paper. They have researched the appearance, diet, habitat, care of the young, and interesting fun facts on the animal they chose. Now, they are learning how to write a main idea sentence for each paragraph supported with details. We will continue writing the rough draft this week, and I am hoping to have students "publish" (write final copies) these by the early part of next week.
SCIENCE - In science, students are building upon the study of solids, liquids, and gases from second grade by exploring the ways matter changes. We have been reviewing the properties of solids, liquids, and gases by doing some kinesthetic activities in class. This past Friday, students created a poster to distinguish the differences between the three states of matter using fruit loops to represent the molecules. This is a fun unit with some really cool experiments that students will enjoy.
MATH - We will continue our study of area and perimeter in math for the upcoming week. We have been using manipulatives such as tiles and Cheez-Its to understand area, as well as apply area in real life situations to make it more applicable to the students. On Monday, we will be creating rectangles using graph paper and colored pencils to explore rectilinear area. When talking with your child at home, please relate area and perimeter to items around the house to help students distinguish the difference between the two.
IMPORTANT DATES
Monday, February 1 - PTA Boosterthon begins
Friday, February 5 - Superbowl Spirit Day - Wear Carolina Panthers or Denver Broncos colors/team gear or wear your Douglas shirts.
Friday, February 12 - Music, Dance, and Science Informance
Friday, February 12 - Early Release Day
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
It is hard to believe that we are already into our third quarter of the school year. The weeks seem to be flying by as we stay busy with all the fun activities going on at our school. I am listing below some information regarding our curriculum and upcoming events for the week ahead. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
READING - Students are enjoying learning about the elements of mysteries and some of the specific vocabulary (suspects, alibi, red herring, etc.) specific to this genre. Last week, we read some one minute mysteries and used our inferring skills to solve these mysteries. I have encouraged your child to check a mystery out of the class library or school library so that they may practice the skills they are learning in their own book. This week, I will be sharing a couple of fun mystery read alouds entitled Grandpa's Teeth and Private I. Guana to help my students understand the elements of mysteries. The mid-year reading assessments are almost completed, and I will be sending a letter home soon to let you know your child's fluency and comprehension levels at this point in the year.
WRITING - Students are now writing the rough draft of their animal informational paper. They have researched the appearance, diet, habitat, care of the young, and interesting fun facts on the animal they chose. Now, they are learning how to write a main idea sentence for each paragraph supported with details. We will continue writing the rough draft this week, and I am hoping to have students "publish" (write final copies) these by the early part of next week.
SCIENCE - In science, students are building upon the study of solids, liquids, and gases from second grade by exploring the ways matter changes. We have been reviewing the properties of solids, liquids, and gases by doing some kinesthetic activities in class. This past Friday, students created a poster to distinguish the differences between the three states of matter using fruit loops to represent the molecules. This is a fun unit with some really cool experiments that students will enjoy.
MATH - We will continue our study of area and perimeter in math for the upcoming week. We have been using manipulatives such as tiles and Cheez-Its to understand area, as well as apply area in real life situations to make it more applicable to the students. On Monday, we will be creating rectangles using graph paper and colored pencils to explore rectilinear area. When talking with your child at home, please relate area and perimeter to items around the house to help students distinguish the difference between the two.
IMPORTANT DATES
Monday, February 1 - PTA Boosterthon begins
Friday, February 5 - Superbowl Spirit Day - Wear Carolina Panthers or Denver Broncos colors/team gear or wear your Douglas shirts.
Friday, February 12 - Music, Dance, and Science Informance
Friday, February 12 - Early Release Day
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
Sunday, January 3, 2016
WEEK OF JANUARY 4, 2016 NEWS
Happy New Year Parents,
I hope you enjoyed the holiday season with your families and had time to relax. I am excited about a fresh start to a new year and teaching your children. I must say that I thought about them quite a bit during the break and am looking forward to seeing them tomorrow. Listed below is an overview for the coming week.
READING - We will continue our study of informational text as we focus on the main idea and supporting details not only in written text, but in pictures as well. We will also incorporate poetry into Reader's Workshop this week to practice determining main idea in a different genre of text. In Work Work, students will be learning the spellings of the following words: knew, new, know, no, probably, and usually. They are enjoying participating in the interactive chants we have learned to help us remember our words.
WRITING - Students are also practicing determining main idea and supporting details in Writer's Workshop as they write on a topic in which they are an expert. We will finish writing these informational papers this week and begin writing a research-based paper on an animal of their choice towards the end of the week. Students seem to enjoy this writing that is based on factual information.
MATH - We will review strategies for multiplying and dividing, as well as estimating during the first part of the week in preparation for a test in the middle of the week (Wednesday or Thursday). Our next unit of study in math is graphing which will include reading and creating bar graphs and pictographs. I think students will enjoy the hands-on activities planned in this unit to help them create their graphs.
SOCIAL STUDIES - Students will be wrapping up the unit on Economics and Financial Literacy with Mr. Otto.
IMPORTANT DATES - January 6 - January 26 - mClass reading assessment window
January 11 - 15 - Third Grade Writer in Residence
January 20 - Reading Case 21 Testing for Third Grade
January 21 - Math Case 21 Testing for Third Grade
January 15 - Quarter 2 ends
I look forward to working with you as we begin the new year. I am very grateful for your support. Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
I hope you enjoyed the holiday season with your families and had time to relax. I am excited about a fresh start to a new year and teaching your children. I must say that I thought about them quite a bit during the break and am looking forward to seeing them tomorrow. Listed below is an overview for the coming week.
READING - We will continue our study of informational text as we focus on the main idea and supporting details not only in written text, but in pictures as well. We will also incorporate poetry into Reader's Workshop this week to practice determining main idea in a different genre of text. In Work Work, students will be learning the spellings of the following words: knew, new, know, no, probably, and usually. They are enjoying participating in the interactive chants we have learned to help us remember our words.
WRITING - Students are also practicing determining main idea and supporting details in Writer's Workshop as they write on a topic in which they are an expert. We will finish writing these informational papers this week and begin writing a research-based paper on an animal of their choice towards the end of the week. Students seem to enjoy this writing that is based on factual information.
MATH - We will review strategies for multiplying and dividing, as well as estimating during the first part of the week in preparation for a test in the middle of the week (Wednesday or Thursday). Our next unit of study in math is graphing which will include reading and creating bar graphs and pictographs. I think students will enjoy the hands-on activities planned in this unit to help them create their graphs.
SOCIAL STUDIES - Students will be wrapping up the unit on Economics and Financial Literacy with Mr. Otto.
IMPORTANT DATES - January 6 - January 26 - mClass reading assessment window
January 11 - 15 - Third Grade Writer in Residence
January 20 - Reading Case 21 Testing for Third Grade
January 21 - Math Case 21 Testing for Third Grade
January 15 - Quarter 2 ends
I look forward to working with you as we begin the new year. I am very grateful for your support. Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Ms. Underwood
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