Learning Targets for the Week of 3/6
READING
In reading, we are working on comparing and contrasting two different nonfiction texts about the same topic. We are identifying the main idea and locating specific information within both texts. We are also discussing how nonfiction text features, such as photographs, support the text. Towards the end of the week, we will be comparing and contrasting the setting, theme, and plot of two different fiction texts.
WRITING
We are working on comparing and contrasting during our writing time as well. We are using the nonfiction texts from reading to write essays that either compare or contrast the main idea and key details. Towards the end of the week, we will be writing an imagined narrative about a lucky day. We will be focussing on incorporating a variety of sentence structures (simple, compound subject, compound predicate, compound sentence, and complex). We are also working on when to double the final consonant of a word before adding a suffix.
MATH
We just started our new topic on fractions. This week, the students will learn about what fractions represent, how to mark and label fractions on a number line, and fractions greater than 1 (ex. 5/4). We will have our topic assessment a couple of days after returning from Spring Break.
SCIENCE
We are just finishing our life science unit on the coral reef. The students created a tree map to collect information on a specific ocean animal and are now finishing their artwork for our classroom ocean mural. We will begin our earth science study of weather and climate towards the end of the week.
Learning Targets for the Week of 2/14
READING
This week in reading, we will continue our study of folktales. We will focus on character perspective, visualizing, comparing and contrasting stories, summarizing fiction text, and using context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words. We will work on these skills and strategies during small group instruction as well.
WRITING
We have finished our fanfiction unit for now and will revisit this genre later. For the next couple of weeks, we will focus on informational writing. This week, we will write compare-and-contrast essays to note the similarities and differences between two different texts on the same topic. We will work on adding specific examples from both texts to support our thinking. Our spelling focus will be on prefixes.
MATH
We are starting a new math topic this week on using patterns to find products when one factor is a multiple of 10 (ex. 6 x 2 = 12; 6 x 20 = 120). Our new math topic is very short! We will most likely take our assessment on Thursday depending on how our lessons go. Please make sure your child is practicing their basic multiplication and division facts at home. We will start taking timed tests again this week.
SCIENCE
This week in science, we will learn how coral polyps get their energy from the sun and how scientists develop key questions to classify and identify different species.
Learning Targets for the Week of 2/7
READING
In reading, we will be starting a new Wonders unit on folktales. We will be reading several folktales as a class, and the students will also be reading folktales in their reading group with me. During whole group instruction, our main focus will be on visualizing, summarizing, identifying the theme, and understanding the author's message. Small group instruction will have a similar focus with other skills depending on the students' needs. Our spelling focus this week is -r controlled vowels.
WRITING
This week in writing, we will be continuing our study of fanfiction. We will be writing diary and journal entries from the perspective of various characters. Our mini lessons will be centered around understanding our characters and incorporating their feelings and emotions into our writing. We will also be working on capitalization and past tense verbs.
MATH
We will be finishing our topic on addition and subtraction on Wednesday. This unit has covered addition with partial sums and column addition and subtracting with partial differences and column subtraction. We will be reviewing on Thursday and taking our assessment on Friday.
SCIENCE
In science, we will be learning about the coral life cycle and how the coral reef grows and develops over time. We will also discuss how coral polyps get their energy from the sun and how living things are classified.
Learning Targets for the Week of 1/23
READING
Our main genre this week in reading is nonfiction text. We will review how to use nonfiction text features (headings, bold words, captions, etc.) to enhance our comprehension. We will also identify different text structures (problem and solution, compare and contrast, description, cause and effect, and sequence of events) within a text and use that to help us organize the information presented. Throughout the week, we will work on written responses to text and focus on using part of the question in our answer.
All students are also continuing with their nonfiction reading groups that started last week. Learning targets are specific to each reading group. However, all groups are also working on identifying the central, or main, idea.
WRITING
The students are really enjoying our current writing unit on fanfiction. Fanfiction is when authors write an original piece inspired by an already established book, movie, character, etc. We have viewed a couple Disney shorts and worked on extending the story to tell what happened after the short ended. This week, we will continue the story with a few different picture books. We will learn how to use the ending of the original piece to begin our new narrative. The students will also learn how to include dialogue in a story to show emotion and connection between characters.
Our spelling focus this week is on -r controlled vowels. Please see your child's agenda for their specific spelling list. Our spelling test will be on Friday.
MATH
This week, we will be finishing up Topic 8 in math, which covers addition and subtraction with regrouping as well as rounding to the nearest tens and hundreds. We will start our review on Tuesday, and the students will bring home their assessment practice on Wednesday. We will most likely test on Thursday, depending on how our review goes.
Please make sure your child is practicing his/her basic multiplication facts at home as these are essential in your child's continued success. We are taking several 1-minute timed tests throughout the week. The tests are leveled x2, x3, x4, etc. When a student gets 100%, they advance to the next level.
SCIENCE
In science, the students will continue collecting basic information about ocean animals and the coral reef. We will focus on behavioral and physical adaptations and how they help animals survive. We will also discuss the interdependence of underwater plants and animals.
Learning Targets for the Week of 12/12
READING
Our focus this week will be on reading and understanding nonfiction text. We will use nonfiction text features (titles, captions, photographs, labels, maps, etc.) to enhance our understanding. We will also work on identifying text structures (problem and solution, description, cause and effect, compare and contrast, and chronological order) within the main text. This will help students organize new information and details in their minds. Our class will also work on understanding and answering written questions.
WRITING
The students just started planning their first informational piece on an animal of their choice. They have collected information from a couple different sources and have almost finished their plans (flee map). The rest of the week will be spent taking their plans to a 5-paragraph piece. Our main targets will be on presenting facts (no opinions), including technical or scientific vocabulary, and varying sentence structures.
MATH
We will start our new math unit this week on using strategies and properties to add and subtract two and three-digit numbers. The students will review addition and subtraction strategies from second grade (partial sums and differences, compensation, and using place value blocks and number lines). We will also work on estimating sums and differences as well as using bar diagrams to represent equations.
SOCIAL STUDIES
The students will work together and use Target online to create a list of items to guide their in-person shopping on Wednesday. They will compare prices and shop for deals to maximize savings.
Learning Targets for the Week of 12/5
READING
We are working with nonfiction text this week, mostly using our Story Works magazine. We will take an in depth look at text features (headings, photographs, captions, bold words, etc.) and use them to support the ideas we've learned in the main text. We will also use text features to help navigate and locate specific information in an easier and more efficient manner. Towards the end of the week, our study will shift more towards text structures (description, sequence, problem and solution, compare and contrast, and cause and effect). By recognizing how nonfiction text is organized, students can look for certain components to better understand the text.
WRITING
We are continuing our study of good word choice and how descriptive and accurate words paint a picture for our readers. This makes our writing more interesting, precise, and enjoyable to read. This week, we will incorporate our good word choice into fiction and nonfiction pieces across the curriculum. We will also continue our study of commas and review subject and verb agreement.
MATH
Our new math topic is on graphs. We will learn about several different types of graphs and how to interpret the data presented. The students will also create their own graphs to represent specific data and will create a scale based on tallied results. This is a short topic, and our plan is to take this topic test on Friday. The best way to support your child with third grade math is to have them memorize their basic multiplication and division facts.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We are continuing with our economics and civics unit called Lean on Me. With this unit, our class will "adopt" a family in need, create personalized earning plans, prioritize wants and needs, and price shop to maximize savings. We will also learn about goods and services, producers and consumers, supply and demand, competition, and scarcity. Please make sure your child is working on their personal learning plan at home. Earnings may be sent in anytime. Thank you so much for your help with this project. It is such a special opportunity for everyone! :) Please note that the third grade shopping day has changed to December 14. This new date was on the letter that was sent home last week.
Learning Targets for the Week of 11/14
READING
The week, we are finishing up our text set on immigration. We will focus on what our characters do and say to help identify the theme of various texts. We will also study cause and effect and learn how signal works (so, because, result in, etc.) help readers identify these relationships. For phonics, we will look at open and closed syllables and glued sounds (letters that keep their individual sound but are glued together, ex. all, am, and unk).
WRITING
The students will learn about perspective writing and write diary entries from the perspective of an American immigrant in the early 1900s. They will incorporate historical facts learned through our Wonders reading and from our social studies mini lessons. We will also focus on comma rules this week.
MATH
Our current math topic is on area. The students will apply what they have learned about multiplication, the distributive property, and division to calculate the area of various shapes and find missing measurements. Be sure to ask your child about their dream house! :) We will take the topic 6 test on Friday. We also started timed multiplication tests today! All students started with x2 and will continue on to the next level (x3, x4, x5, etc.) as they pass each test. They are given 1 minute to pass 20 basic facts. Please make sure your child is practicing their basic facts at home!
SOCIAL STUDIES
We are wrapping up our study of immigration and cultures. We are all so excited for the Ellis Island Simulation on Wednesday! This week, we will also be looking at the many contributions different cultures and people have made to our communities.
Learning Targets for the Week of 11/2
READING
We just started a new Wonders text set with our essential question being "Why do people immigrate to new places?" Most of our texts within this set will be historical fiction. This week, our main focus will be on theme, character development, and summarizing. Our vocabulary words are arrived, immigrated, inspected, moment, opportunity, photographs, valued, and whispered. During phonics, we will work on closed syllables, which are words or parts of words that have one vowel “closed in” or followed by one or more consonants. Towards the end of the week, we will start with glued sounds, which are letters that keep their individual sound but are glued together (ex. all, am, unk).
WRITING
This week in writing, the students will use their flee map to write their first draft of their Pop Its opinion piece. We will focus on using details, as well as examples and personal experiences to support our reasons. We will also revisit compound sentences and other sentence structures to enhance the flow of our writing. During grammar, we will review plural nouns and begin our study of possessive nouns.
MATH
We are at the end of Topic 5 in math and will begin reviewing on Thursday. In this unit, the students learned how to use a multiplication table to multiply and divide. They also worked on using the distributive property to solve unknown multiplication equations and bar diagrams to divide. We ended the topic with students writing their own multiplication and division stories. We will take the topic test either on Friday or Monday, depending upon how the review goes. The best way to support your child at home is to have them memorize their basic multiplication and division facts.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We just started our new unit on how people and cultures influence the development of different communities or regions. We will look at why people immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, how the immigration process worked on Ellis Island, and what a new life in America meant.
Learning Targets for the Week of 10/24
READING
This week in reading we will focus on fantasy text. We will identify story elements and use those to summarize stories both orally and in written form. We will also study characters and how they develop and change throughout a story. To end our week, we will compare two different fantasy texts in a series. Our phonics focus is on closed syllables and homophones. We will also look at when to use -tch rather than -ch (following a short vowel).
WRITING
Should Pop Its be allowed in schools? That is the topic of our new opinion piece. This week the students will take a stance, brainstorm reasons to support their opinions, and create a flee map to outline their writing. We will use a mentor text to better understand the structure of opinion pieces and to help us form our supporting details. The students will learn how writers use strong words, examples, and personal experiences to support their claims. Our spelling focus is on silent letters found in words such as knight, gnaws, sign, and wrist.
MATH
We will start our new math unit on fluently multiplying and dividing within 100. We will learn how to use a multiplication chart to multiply and divide and continue working on different strategies to solve and represent basic multiplication and division problems. We will also review place value and addition and subtraction with regrouping. The best way to support your child in math is to have them memorize their basic multiplication and division facts at home.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We are in the middle of our government study. This week we will discuss the three levels of government and look at the specific role each level plays. We will also learn more about the three branches of government.
Learning Targets for the Week of 10/10
READING
We are working with expository text during our whole group mini lessons as well as in our guided reading groups. Our main focus again this week is using details in the text to identify the author's claim (position). We will also be using text features (headings, subheadings, photographs, captions, etc.) to enhance our comprehension. Towards the end of the week, we will look at different text structures (description, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and sequence of events) and learn how to navigate through these types of text. Our phonics focus is a review of short vowels and closed syllables.
WRITING
We are just starting our new study of opinion writing, and the students are enjoying our current debate of cats vs. dogs. We will read a couple mentor texts to better understand the structure of opinion pieces and to learn about different strategies to convince our readers. The students will brainstorm ideas on a circle map to support their opinion on why a dog or cat makes a better pet. Then they will plan their writing on a flee map and write a first draft. We will also work on common long e spelling patterns as well as plural nouns this week.
MATH
We are finishing up our unit on using multiplication facts to solve related division problems. We will spend a couple of days practicing what we've learned in this unit and then begin reviewing for our test. The students will take the topic assessment on Friday. The best way to support your child with our math is to have them memorize their basic multiplication and division facts at home.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Our current focus is on government and how elections work in a democracy. We will learn about the voting process and the roles and responsibilities of the national, state, and local government.
Learning Targets for the Week of 10/3
READING
We started a new Wonders unit with our essential question being "How do people make government work?" All of our texts this week are expository texts. One of our main learning targets is understanding the author's claim (author's opinion) and identifying the details the author uses to support their beliefs. We are also working on rereading and using text features to better comprehend expository text. Our vocabulary words this week are announced, convince, candidates, decisions, estimate, independent, government, and elect. We are also learning about prefixes and how to use them to determine the meaning of unknown words. Reading groups have these and other learning targets depending on the needs of each group.
WRITING
The students will be "word collectors" this week! We will read a few mentor texts to study how authors use descriptive words in their writing and make note of these words and phrases. The students will use their collection of words to practice writing detailed and descriptive sentences. We will also study common and proper nouns and which type require capitalization. Our spelling focus this week is on the long i and long e spelling patterns.
MATH
Our new topic's essential questions are "How can you use known multiplication facts to find unknown division facts? How are multiplication and division related?" We will learn about the inverse relationship between multiplication and division and how division facts can be found by thinking of a related multiplication fact. The best way to support your student in math at home is to have them practice their basic multiplication facts with flashcards, apps, practice sheets, etc.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We just finished our study of geography and communities and are now headed into government with a focus on local government. Our new Wonders unit ties into this new study. This week, the students will learn about the three branches of government.
Learning Targets for the Week of 9/26
READING
This week, we are working on identifying the central idea and relevant details in expository text. We will also be comparing and contrasting two different texts on a similar topic and connecting the information to enhance our comprehension. The students and I will also be working on these skills in small reading groups along with other learning targets dependent upon the groups' needs.
WRITING
The students are finishing their multiple paragraph piece about their favorite birthday. They have revised their writing to include descriptive adjectives and vivid verbs. Next stop is editing and writing their final copy. At the end of the week, the students and I will start a new study on opinion writing.
MATH
The students have done a terrific job with the distributive property of multiplication! They really understand how to break up a multiplication fact into smaller facts to make the problem easier to solve. We will be reviewing this math topic on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and taking our topic assessment on Thursday. The students will be bringing home their math workbooks on Wednesday to review for their assessment. The best way to support your child in math is to have them practice their basic multiplication math facts with flashcards, apps, practice sheets, etc.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We are continuing with our study of cultural characteristics of a community. The students really enjoyed using Google Earth to learn more about different countries. They were able to view various cities and schools around the world, which they found fascinating! We will read several stories this week and focus on how culture influences a community.
Learning Targets for the Week of 9/19
READING
We are finishing up our expository text set on landforms and landmarks. Our main focus this week is on identifying the central, or main idea, and supporting details. We are also working on making connections between two different texts to better understand a topic or idea.
WRITING:
The students have finished their writing plan (flee map) about their favorite birthdays and are now using these plans to write a 5-paragraph piece. Our main focus this week is how to incorporate exciting adjectives and vivid verbs into our writing. This will paint a clearer picture for our readers and keep them more engaged with our writing. We are also working on the long /o/ spelling patterns.
MATH:
The students are working on understanding the concept of multiplication and how to solve basic multiplication facts using patterns and the distributive property. We will also be learning about the associative property, which states that you can change the grouping of factors and still get the same product. The best way to support your child at home is to have them practice their basic multiplication facts using an app, flashcards, practice sheets, or anything similar.
SOCIAL STUDIES
This week, the students have learned about 3 different types of communities- urban, suburban, and rural. The rest of the week will be spent on understanding and identifying cultural characteristics within a community.
Learning Targets for the Week of 9/12
READING
We are starting a new text set this week, with our essential question being "How do landmarks help us understand our country's history?" All three texts in this set are nonfiction. Our main focus this week will be on finding the central, or main, idea of a text and identifying relevant details. We will also be using nonfiction text features to enhance our understanding of the text as well as asking and answering questions while reading. The students will also be using context clues (synonyms, antonyms, and examples) to determine the meaning of unknown words.
WRITING
We are beginning a new personal narrative piece this week, which will be graded and sent home next week. One of our writing targets this week will focus on using good word choice in our writing. We will be adding descriptive adjectives and adverbs to help our readers better understand our ideas. We will also be working on incorporating different sentence structures in our writing, such as compound sentences.
MATH
We will start topic 3 on Wednesday, which focuses on the properties of x3, x4, x6, x7, and x8 facts. This week, the students will learn about the distributive property, which states that multiplication equations can be broken apart into two other multiplication facts. The best way to support your child in math is to have them practice their basic multiplication facts at home using flashcards, apps, or anything similar.
SOCIAL STUDIES
This week, we will complete our study of physical characteristics of communities. The students will learn about landforms and bodies of water and how these characteristics affect communities. We will also compare and contrast two different U.S. cities and learn how people adapt to the specific physical characteristics in their communities.
Learning Targets for the Week of 9/6
READING:
We just started a new whole group text today called Yoon and the Jade Bracelet. We will work on this text for a couple of days, focussing on character development, character perspective, visualizing, and inferring. Our vocabulary words are the same as last week: celebrate, courage, disappointment, precious, pride, remind, symbols, and tradition. Our class will also continue our study of using context clues to figure out the meaning of unknown words.
WRITING:
The students are doing a terrific job with their first multiple paragraph, personal narrative piece. They are using their flee maps (writing plan) to keep their writing organized, focused, and full of interesting details. We have really been working on using description to make our readers feel our emotions. The students have also been identifying and writing sentences that include compound subjects and compound predicates.
MATH:
Our current math topic is on multiplication and the patterns found within basic facts. Our focus has been on x0, x1, x2, x5, x9, and x10. We will also be using bar graphs this week to solve multiplication problems. We will start reviewing this topic at the end of the week and into the beginning of next week. Our topic 2 assessment will be sometime next week, with a specific date coming soon. The best way to support your child with this topic and our future multiplication topics is to have them practice these basic multiplication facts at home. Flashcards, apps, and practice sheets are all great ways for the students to practice!
SOCIAL STUDIES:
This week, we are focusing on how physical characteristics affect communities and the people within them. We will learn about different landforms and the different bodies of water and complete the geography lapbook that we have been working on.
Learning Targets for the Week of 8/29
READING:
Our essential question this week in Wonders is "What can traditions teach you about cultures?" All of our texts this week will be realistic fiction. We will focus on identifying story elements and understanding character development and perspective. We will also work on using the author's description to create visualizations in our mind. Our vocabulary words for the next two weeks are: celebrate, disappointment, pride, symbol, courage, precious, remind, and tradition.
WRITING:
We will continue with our study of personal narratives. The students just finished their first piece on how they get ready for school. This writing was a single paragraph, but most of our writing in third grade will be multiple paragraphs. We really took our time with this first piece, so the students would have a strong understanding of what a well-organized paragraph entails. We will start a new personal narrative on Tuesday and focus on adding details to make our readers feel our emotions. Our class will also work on sentence structures this week and how to fix fragments and run-on sentences.
MATH:
Our class is starting Topic 2 in enVision. This topic covers multiplication using 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10 as factors. We will use various strategies such as skip counting and pattern recognition to solve basic multiplication equations. Moving forward, the students will take a pretest at the beginning of each math topic, which will help create groups and guide instruction.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
We are continuing our study of geography and communities. This week, the students will learn about physical and political maps and their purposes. They will also take a close look at different communities and physical characteristics within different regions of The United States. We will end the week by learning about how people adapt to the physical characteristics in their community,
REMINDERS:
We have P.E. this week. Please remind your child to bring/wear their tennis shoes.
The students will start their iReady Reading Diagnostic this week. This assessment will be split up over three or four days.
Learning Targets for the Week of 8/22
Reading:
This week, we will finish our first text set (3 group texts in each set) in our new Wonders curriculum and continue practicing using text evidence to support our thinking. Our class will also work on recognizing chronological events in a story by looking for signal words.