I would like to express my appreciation to all of my awesome students and parents! We received so many donations for our class party and supplies for our classroom. A special thanks to Melanie Barker and Crystal Stott for organizing our Christmas party. Also, a special thanks to Lance Stott and Julie Leigh for contributing to our Third Grade Sing-Around-the-Tree. Lance played the guitar and Julie told the story, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".

Here is the plan for the next few weeks:

Math- We are finishing up Chapter 6 and will be testing this Wednesday. Chapter 7 will focus on Division Facts and Strategies.

Times Tables- Please continue practicing at home. We are continually working on pass-offs at school.

Keyboarding- Although we have finished our keyboarding lessons, we will continue practicing those skills a couple of times each week.

Language Arts/Reading- We have started Unit 4 which focuses on Ancient Roman Civilizations. This unit will cover numerous Language Arts Core Standards. Just a few of the goals we strive to reach include:
1. Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text
2. Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea
3. Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect
4. Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text
5. Use information gained from illustrations and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text
6. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
7. Decode words with common Latin suffixes.
Again, these are only a few of the standards addressed during this unit.
This also fits in well with our Social Studies Core Standards.

Science- Along with our Roller Coaster activity, we will be learning about Force & Motion for our science lessons.

Library/Music/P.E. continue as usual.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

The holiday season is upon us! We have many fun activities planned, including a Thanksgiving party next Tuesday, November 24th. Our Party Chairs are Crystal Stott and Melanie Barker. They are planning a fun craft and activities. A special thanks to them along with our Halloween party organizers which were Brock, Kim Parson and Amy Barrick. They put a lot of effort into that party and the students had a ball!

The following is a list of the sign-ups for the Thanksgiving party:

Apple Slices: Amy Barrick
Chips: Becky Burrows
Chips: Becky Burrows
Cheetos: Becky Burrows
3 cans of olives: Ember Merriam
Cheese cubes: Kim Parson
One jar of pickles: Cassie Nakken
Boxed Apple Juice: Hollie Jewkes
Boxed Apple Juice: Jamie Hunt
Boxed Apple: Melanie Barker
Napkins and Plates: Tara Oldroyd

Next Monday and Tuesday, all of the 3rd grade classes will be taking the SAGE Interim test. This is a tool that will help us determine where are students are at and what we need to do as teachers to help our students improve. This will most likely take the bulk of the time on each of these mornings. Don't plan on any homework these two days(other than the reading).

Have a great week!

We have now started the second quarter. Our 3rd Grade Thriller was a blast! Thanks to all of you that helped us pull it off!
Here's our class schedule over the next few weeks:

CKLA- Spelling has started with our CKLA program! Word lists will come home on Mondays and the tests will be on Fridays. The students seems to like our Unit 2, Classification of Animals. Through this unit, we are able to cover our living/non-living science curriculum. Ask your child about the characteristics of living things.

Daily 5- Although we are heavily involved with the new LA curriculum, the students are still participating in Daily 5 Read-to-Self, Listening etc.

Math- Students are now working on Chapter 4 which continues on with Multiplication Facts. The students did extremely well on the Chapter 3 test and are excelling in their multiplication assignments. Thank you for your help with homework at home!

Times Table Pass-offs: We are still working on passing off our 0's, 1's & 2's. Thank you to the mothers that so kindly volunteer their time to help with this!

Keyboarding: The unit will conclude with lesson number 20. We are currently working on lesson 12. We will plan to finish up in 3 weeks.

Unit Study: Right now, our unit study is Living/Nonliving, which is taking place along with our CKLA Classification Unit as stated above.

Art: The students are finishing up their bird masks. We sure have creative students!

Music: Students have enjoyed learning dances and seasonal music each week.

Thanksgiving Party: Our Thanksgiving party will be on Tuesday, November 24th @ 2:30. The following is a sign-up list for that party. Thank you to everyone that donates time and supplies so the students can enjoy their holiday parties!

Apple Slices: Amy Barrick
Chips: Becky Burrows
Chips: Becky Burrows
Cheetos: Becky Burrows
3 cans of olives: Ember Merriam
Cheese cubes: Kim Parson
One jar of pickles: Cassie Nakken
Boxed Apple Juice: Hollie Jewkes
Boxed Apple Juice: Jamie Hunt
Boxed Apple: Melanie Barker
Napkins and Plates: Tara Oldroyd

It's hard to believe that soon the first quarter of school will be over. The class has settled in well and is proving to be wonderful! Here is the update of events over the next couple of weeks:

Third Grade Thriller- Those students who have reached 80% or above on their progress report will have earned the opportunity to go to our "Thriller" activity on Friday, October 23rd in the afternoon. We have some dance students from Cedar High coming to teach the Thriller dance to our students. The children will rotate through three different stations, all having to do with a Halloween theme. Those students that are not qualified will need to use the time to catch up their work.

CKLA- We are finishing up our "Classic Tales" unit and are moving onto a unit discussing the classification of animals. The students seem to really be enjoying the stories that go along with our daily lessons. They will also continue working on their word work through the skills strand of the lesson each day. Included in the writing portion of CKLA are many "Think, Pair/Share" topics and discussions. The students have responded to specific questions through writing and are currently exchanging their work with the other 3rd grade classes. Each child will have the opportunity to edit another child's work (anonymously) and have their work edited.

Framing Your Thoughts- We have continued working on sentence structure and predicate mobility this past week.

Math- We have just finished Chapter 2 and will start Chapter 3 today. Please watch for your child's test that is coming home today. Each child can have the opportunity to fix any missed problems and send it back for an improved score. Chapter 3 deals with Multiplication, which we already have a good handle on.

Times tables- We have started out pass-offs. If your child hasn't had a turn to pass off 0's, 1's, &2's, they will soon.

Keyboarding- We are not quite half-way through with our keyboarding lessons, but I'm encouraged to see the class doing so well. Thank you for your help at home!

Cursive- We have completed all of the lowercase letters and have moved on to uppercase.

Fall Break- Please note that Fall Break is next week. The students do not have school Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. (Oct.19-22) Please enjoy your break!

Let me know if you have questions or concerns!

Welcome Back for another great school week! I am looking forward to SEP's next week and the chance to meet with each of you. Your child will be bringing home an appointment time that will hopefully work for you. If not, let me know and we'll work something out.

A couple of things I have remembered, but not told you about:
Snacks- Students are allowed to bring a healthy snack to school to eat at their morning break. They are not required to do this, but some students are very hungry at this time and have a hard time concentrating on their work.
Homework- When your child turns in homework, it should have a parent, sibling, grandparent etc. signature. The signature tells me that it has been checked over. I don't have enough time to check everything, and it is helpful if I can see it's already been corrected.
Library-We have had to change our library time from Thursdays to Tuesdays. This will start tomorrow.
Picture Day- This Friday, September 25th, will be picture day. Information has been sent home and more will be sent before Friday.

Classwork-

GoMath- We are finishing up chapter 1 and will take the test this week. Please watch for a review assignment that will be coming home. Mr. Rowley, our math specialist, has asked teachers to work the majority of the GoMath assignments in class rather than send it home for homework. When possible, I will follow his instructions. The majority of the math coming home will be drill and practice.

Times Tables- We will continue our times table study and look to start our pass-offs the week after next.  We will start with 0,s, 1's & 2's. Please study these times tables with your child on nights when no math homework is sent home.  After 2's, we'll move to 5's, 9's & 10's.

CKLA- We are progressing through our new L.A. program. The students have enjoyed classic tales and especially, "The Wind in the Willows". We have also reviewed core phonics skills and are working through our beginning of the year assessment.

Framing Your Thoughts- Our class is also working on sentence structure through our "Framing Your Thoughts" program.

Keyboarding- We have been able to get the students logged in and ready to start Keyboarding this week. Next week, the first homework will be sent home.

Unit Study (Science/Social Studies)- Right now, keyboarding will take up our "Unit Study" time. As soon as this program ends, we will be hitting science especially hard. We've been able to fit Social Studies into other subjects during the day.

Art/Music/P.E.- The students are enjoying art, music and P.E. each week. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings we have music, and Art is on Thursday mornings. P.E. is on Mondays @ 1:30.

You have sent me wonderful children! Have a great week!

September 1st News:
I really enjoyed the "Me Museums"! Thank you for your help at home with them. Our August reading records are now due. Please help your child remember to bring them to school if they haven't already.

We will be having our first store this week. Thank you for the donations that have come in. The students love the store, but it can be quite an expense to do it on my own. Thanks again!
This first store, I am not imposing any grade requirements. After this one, each student will need  80% on their grades to participate. Every Thursday, I plan to have a student-teacher conference where I can help the students make sure they are where they need to be.

CKLA is going well and I am seeing that the students are benefitting from this program. Classic Tales is the topic for the first unit and The Wind in the Willows is the focus story, although we are discussing many stories.

Cursive- We have already learned 7 lower case letters. We will continue working on them in class.

Math- We are on the 2nd lesson of GoMath. Hopefully, you've noticed homework coming home. I plan to send math homework 3 days a week, but normally not on Fridays.
Times Tables- We have worked on Times Tables 0, 1, 2, 5, 10, & 11's.  Please quiz your student on these times tables. We will start pass-offs next month after the students have some time to practice.

Keyboarding- We have had to put off keyboarding because of some technical difficulties. I will let you know when we plan to start.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

It has sincerely been a wonderful first two days of school. I have had the best time with your children! I also appreciate the donations that have been sent in and the volunteer help that you are willing to offer.

Almost every child turned their folder in today. That never happens! Thank you for your support with this. No GoMath or LA homework will be sent home throughout next week, but keep your eye out for the reading calendar. The required reading is twenty minutes each school night. They need to be turned in at the end of each month.

This is our schedule for the year:

-Mondays: 12:30- 1:30: P.E.
-Tuesdays: 10:30- Music
-Wednesdays: 10:00-Music
-Thursdays: 10:00-10:45- Art

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
email- marie.holmes@ironmail.org