November 2014

Language Arts

In Writing Workshop, students have been taking their second personal narratives through the full writing process. They each chose one of their personal quick writes from their writing journal, then applied new writing techniques and strategies to enhance their stories. We have been editing the drafts together, and students are publishing their final drafts using Pages. We are excited to share these stories with you!

During the month of November we will be learning to paragraph and include dialogue with commas and quotation marks. We will continue to develop editing and revising strategies.

In Reading Workshop, students have been assigned a book series and a book group. Students are developing their listening and speaking skills as they participate in daily book talks.

Accelerated Reader - All students in our class have made their personal AR goals - woohoo!! We will be having an all-school celebration on Monday, November 10.  Students will be setting individual AR  goals for the 2nd trimester.

Mathematics

In math third graders are learning beginning concepts about multiplication.  They are understanding new vocabulary such as product, factors, and arrays. 

Students are expected to memorize their basic multiplication facts in this order:  0, 1, 2, 5, 10, 9, 3, 6, 4, 8, and 7.  Students should study 10 minutes every night and focus on learning their multiplication fact(s) for the week.

Science

We will be completing the Matter and Energy unit. Students are learning the attributes of the three forms of matter, as well as how to make scientific measurements of matter. We will also investigate how matter can sometimes change during a chemical reaction or when heat is added.

Social Studies

Later this month we will begin to learn about the history of our community. We will begin with a study of the Miwok Native American people.

Technology

The third graders are using the iPads as tools to demonstrate their learning in various ways.  We will begin using a program called, “Explain Everything” which allows students to record their “pen strokes” and voices which they can use to demonstrate their understanding of various concepts. Additionally, we will be using the iPads as a means to practice and assess how well students are learning their multiplication facts.  

Scholarly Attributes

These attributes distinguish strong and promising strong and promising scholars from ordinary academics. We discuss these ideas in depth and promote the behaviors frequently in class. 

This Month’s Icons:

Inquirers - Scholars are curious and imaginative. They ask questions and seek out knowledge, which leads to more questions. Learning is a lifelong process and never ends. 

Persistent Thinkers- Scholars ponder ideas and exercise intellect. They know it is okay to not always have the right answers and persevere through challenges.

Icons of Depth & Complexity

A common, universal language that helps promote critical thinking and gives students a chance to make connections between past knowledge and new knowledge and ultimately integrate that to the real world!

This Month’s Icons:

Unanswered Questions - Students understand that there are many times when information is unclear, missing, or unavailable. They ask questions based on this missing information in order to try and gain a better understanding through various forms of research.

Rules - Students understand that there guidelines that help us structure our understanding of a concept learned. They will learn to  construct rules that help us with this understanding.