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
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
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
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
Sunday, November 15, 2015
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
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
Sunday, November 1, 2015
"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
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
Sunday, October 18, 2015
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
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
Sunday, October 11, 2015
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
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
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