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We've Been HARD AT WORK...
Math
We finished our multiplication unit. The kids have a great grasp on the concept of multiplication and solving multiplication story problems. We have worked hard to learn strategies for solving multiplication facts that we don't have memorized. As the students continue working to memorize their facts, these strategies won't be needed, however, right now, we have really improved our number sense with these strategies.

We are starting our next math unit - Unit 4 Measurement and Fractions. In this unit students will:

• tell time and calculate elapsed time (how much time has passed)
• measure mass and volume to solve problems
• model and compare fractions in different ways

Today, we worked on telling time to the nearest minute. This weekend, help your child review their time-telling skills by asking them to look at a clock and tell you the time throughout the day! :)

Reading
As part of our nonfiction unit, students are working to identify the five different nonfiction text structures - description, sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution. This higher level skill will take some time to master, but the kids have a really good start on it. At home, if your child is reading a nonfiction book, ask they what text structure they think the author used to organize the information on that certain page, paragraph, chapter, etc.

Writing
After finishing our descriptive writing project based off of the Book In November by Cynthia Rylant, we took a break to work on some homophones that I've noticed the students' are misusing in their writing - your, you're, there, their, they're, and to, too, two. We worked to understand when each of these words is used, and then we went back to some of our previous writing projects in our writer's notebooks to correct errors that we noticed we made. Now moving forward, the students will be able to use these commonly misused words correctly! :)

Social Studies
We began our unit on the northeast region of the United States. We learned which states make up this region, as well as some of the important cities in these states. We focused on these 3 questions:
1. Why is the northeast region called "the birthplace of our nation?"
2. Why did our nation's first factories start here?
3. What large cities are found in the northeast region?

What We've Been Up to...

Math
We are moving right along with our multiplication unit. Students are learning different strategies to use for when they don't "just have the fact memorized." Ask your child about the Magic 9s Trick or how to solve x4 facts.

Reading
As part of our nonfiction unit, we have been working on reading nonfiction texts and determining the main idea of the passage. We also have been learning how to use nonfiction text features, such as titles, heading, subheadings to help us figure out the main idea.

***Reminder:
As third graders, we are still working on our reading stamina. Students are working on being able to sit and read for 30 minutes without getting distracted or needing to be redirected. As readers, we are continuing to work on choosing books that keep us engaged in our reading.

What We've Been Learning...

Math
We began Unit 2 - Multiplication this week. The kids have been so excited about learning multiplication. As we continue through this unit and the rest of the year, the students should be working on memorizing their basic multiplication facts. Strong fact fluency will ensure success in 4th and 5th grade as well. While we are working on fact fluency in class, we are also working on growing our number sense and our ability to manipulate numbers to help solve a problem. For example, how can you use 2x8 to find the answer to 4x8. 

Reading
This week we dove a little deeper into nonfiction reading by working on determining the main idea and supporting details for a nonfiction text. We have been using a strategy called "boxes and bullets" to help us organize our thinking. I am encouraging students to read some nonfiction at home as well, so after your child has finished reading a section of a text, ask them to think about the main idea and draw a "boxes and bullets" diagram.

Writing
Students worked hard to finish writing their rough drafts of their Real Estate Listing writing project. For this project, we pretended to be real-estate agents and wrote a listing for either a spooky house or a cool mansion. Students worked to incorporate descriptive details in their listings. We talked about how to show our reader, instead of tell them.

Science
This week we began talking about the three states of matter - solid, liquid, and gas. The kids participated in an investigation where they had to determine the state of matter of different objects provided to them. Next week we will discuss this further by learning about how matter changes state. To end this unit, our third grade will host a scientist from the Environmental Protection agency. His matter demonstration is super engaging! Keep an eye out for some fun pictures from this!

What We've Been Learning...

Math
We have completed Unit 3! Students took their Unit 3 assessment today (Thursday). The graded assessments will be coming home with the students tomorrow (Friday). Students have been asked to correct any mistakes and return the tests to me by Wednesday, October 23rd.

Our next math unit is an introduction to multiplication. In this unit students will:

• ​solve multiplication story problems
• represent problems involving multiplication using skip counting, number lines, arrays, and ratio tables
• develop efficient strategies for multiplication facts through 10x10

Reading
We finished our first unit of study - fiction. Our next unit is a study of nonfiction texts. This week students participated in a nonfiction text features scavenger hunt where they explored different types of nonfiction texts and studied the different text features (glossary, index, types of print, headings, subheadings, photographs, etc.)  to figure out how each feature helps them to better understand the text. We will continue our work with nonfiction when we return from break.

Writing
Students have been working hard these past two weeks on two different writing projects:
- Should Kids Have Homework?
-Should Kids Have School the Day After Halloween?

For each of these pieces, students read an article and then used ideas in the article to form their own opinions. Students worked hard to plan out their writing pieces, making sure to include strong reasons and details that support their opinions. They worked hard to write an organized paragraph that persuades their readers.

When we return from Fall Break, we will begin working on a fun, descriptive writing piece. I have created a make-believe real-estate company and each student will write a listing to sell either a spooky, haunted house, or a beautiful mansion (their choice). We already began collaborating with the art teacher, Ms. Thompson, on this project. She guided the students through a drawing project where they were able to make the house they will write about come alive! These projects will be hanging up in our classroom during conference week, so be sure to take a look!

Science
We began our first science unit - Matter and Energy. For the past two weeks students have been participating in hands-on science investigations where they explored the concept of energy - what is energy, where does energy come from, how is energy stored, and how does energy get transferred? When we return from break we will begin to explore the different states of matter.

We also had our Denver field trip this week! The students really enjoyed this. We participated in a guided tour around lower downtown Denver. Students got to see important buildings that we learned about, as well as hear about the history of our awesome city. The weather was perfect!

Dates to Remember...​​​

• Tuesday, September 17th - Denver Field Trip
• Wednesday, September 18th - Student Leadership Speeches and Election
• Friday, October 4th - Cottonwood Carnival
• Monday, October 14th - Friday, October 18th - FALL BREAK!

A Few Reminders:

• Typing Homework- the typing program (typing.com) only tracks the minutes that students are actually hitting the keys on the keyboard, so if the minutes that the website shows does not match how long your child has sat in front of the computer, that is why. :)
• Student Leadership Council - if your child is interested in running for one of these positions, they should be prepared to present a short speech to the class next Wednesday. The class will vote for our representatives that day.

WHAT WE'VE BEEN LEARNING...

Math
Students took their first math test this week. The graded assessments went home already. In an effort to continue to foster a strong growth mindset in your children, students have been asked to correct their errors, and return the test to me by next Friday.

We began our next unit in math - 3 Digit Addition and Subtraction. In this unit students will:

• ​continue to practice addition and subtraction strategies
• round multi-digit numbers and estimate their sums and differences
• add and subtract two and three-digit numbers using the standard algorithm as well as other methods

​Reading Workshop
We are wrapping up our first reading unit. This week we focused on using context clues to figure out hard words, as well as understanding figurative language, including idioms, hyperboles, and metaphors. The kids have been so excited each time they come across one of these phrases in their own books. We are compiling a list of all the figurative language that we find. Some students even came to school today excited to share some phrases they found in their books while they were reading last night. This excitement for reading is exactly what I want to continue fostering in each one of your children! :)

Writing Workshop
Students worked hard writing their second well-organized paragraph. We discussed the difference between revising and editing, and students worked with other classmates to peer edit their work. It was great to listen to their conversations and hear the compliments and suggestions that students gave one another. This collaboration with classmates is key!

Word Work

• Spelling Homework (due next Wednesday) - Lesson 4 (homophones for long e)
• Wordly Wise - the Lesson 3 test will be next Friday. Students will bring their Wordly Wise books home next week to help them study.

Science/SS
We wrapped up our Denver History unit by learning about 7 different buildings that are important to the history of our great city - Union Station, the Capitol Building, the Denver City and County building, the Oxford Hotel, the Brown Palace, and the Pioneer Monument. The kids are excited to see some of these buildings in person during our field trip on Tuesday!