April 30-May 4th

Reminders: 
Kona Ice will be here Wednesday. Please turn in your 2.00 before/on Wednesday morning. 

Katherine Applegate will be here Friday. Can't wait! If you would like a signed copy of her book, please return the info sheet by Wednesday. 

Writing
This week we are brainstorming ideas for our essays. The fourth graders will also be visiting our classes to help with ideas. It's great to see the collaboration. My goal is for the students to pick a topic by Friday. 

Grammar: Commas in a series 
Spelling: Suffixes

Spelling and grammar test on Friday.

Reading
We are reviewing non fiction text features and their purpose. For the next two weeks, we will read short texts and focus on STAAR like questions. 
I'm continuing with DRA assessments. The kids have all done great! 

Social Studies
Please remember the states test on Wednesday. If your child has lost the study sheet, please look on the homework tab for the list of third grade states. On Thursday, I will go over Market day. Be prepared! The kids will be consumed with market day. :)

April 23-27

Writing: 
We are going to pay close attention to how authors support their claim. My goal is to discuss transition words, examples to support their reasons, and participate in some shared writing. The class definitely has the structure down. 
Here's our class anchor charts: 

Grammar: Commas in a series
Spelling: Suffixes 

Reading
We are reviewing literary non-fiction. We read the a literary non-fiction piece called, "Blood, Smoke, and Freedom" last week. This week we are working on the three core questions with non-fiction. Q1: What is this about? Q2: What was new to me? and Q3: Why is this important?

Reader's workshop: For book clubs we are reading books by Andrew Clements. Students will be reading and tracking their thinking. My goal is for them to work on their discussion skills and supporting their thinking with evidence from the book. 
I will start DRA's next week and will continue through May.

Social Studies
We are continuing with Economy. We will discuss goods and services. We will also study the five states that have been added to the students states test.

April 9-13

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Writing:
This week we will make a characteristic chart on the structure of essays. Students will do some reproduction activities with essays which allows them to review the structure. (Introduction, claim, support, and conclusion)

Spelling: Prefixes (dis, mis, and pre)
Grammar- Subject/Predicate


Reading
We are finishing up reviewing poetry and the characteristics. We will continue reading "Runaway Twin" and marking up the text. Students finished up their book club book and will share their thoughts with the class.

Social Studies
Goodness, the kids were beyond excited today. Students received a fake occupation and income. They will budget their money and see if they need to make any changes such as reduce their housing payment, entertainment, etc.

April 2-6

I hope everyone had a great three day weekend! 

Writing
The students are doing well on learning the parts of an essay. They definitely have an opinion on whether they agree or disagree with the author. By the end of the week, we will do a reproduction activity over an essay. Students will put the parts together and label them. 

Grammar: Subject/Predicate
Spelling: Prefixes 

Reading
We are reviewing poetry. We will review the poetry characteristics and figurative language. We will do a poetry passage together this week. I'm also going to review theme this week.
We are starting our new read aloud, "The Runaway Twin" today. It's always exciting to start a new read aloud. We will take notes, make predictions, and mark up our thinking. 

Social Studies
We are reviewing our entrepreneurs this week. Students will finish presenting their person and put their book together. 

March 26-30

Hope you all have a great three day weekend! 

Writing
We are continuing to consume essays. My goal this week is for students to understand how essays are structured. 

Grammar: Subject/ Predicate. We will discuss how to write complete sentences and labeling the subject/predicate. 

Spelling: This week words are prefixes. We will discuss what a prefix is and what they mean. I'm expecting the kids to write their words in cursive on the spelling test. I will take a handwriting grade as well. Please have your child practice writing them in cursive. 

Reading
We are wrapping up our fiction review. Last week we reviewed how to write a summary. This week we are reviewing main idea, inferences, and theme. Students will also do some vocabulary work. They have two grades this week. A vocab quiz based off the story, "Lost and Found" that we read together and discussed. I will also take a readers observation grade based off of reader's workshop. 

Social Studies
We are continuing with entrepreneurs. 

March 19-23

Welcome back! I hope you all had a great spring break. I've heard from a couple of students so far and it sounds like you all had a blast.

Here's what's going on for the week.

Writing
This nine weeks we are studying a new genre: Essay! We will be consuming essays. We will discuss the authors purpose, structure, and discuss/argue our opinions on certain topics. This is always a fun genre because the kids get so excited sharing their opinion. I want to make sure the kids are arguing their claim with support.

Grammar: Test this Friday over conjunctions..
Spelling:  Y + inflected endings. Test on Friday.

Reading
We will review fiction for the next two weeks. We will look at vocabulary, main idea, cause/effect, etc. We will work with the story " Lost and Found" from Storyworks Jr. Towards the end of the week, I will take their first reading grade using the story, "Lost and Found".
During reader's workshop, I am reviewing the practice STAAR test with students individually. We will review the questions missed and strategies.

Social Studies: Economics
This nine weeks is all about economy. For the next two weeks we will discuss what an entrepreneur is, traits to describe them, and entrepreneurs of the past. We will study Mary Kay Ash, Wallace Amos, Milton Hershey, Sam Walton, and Henry Ford.

February 26- March 9th

We are done with the practice STAAR. YAY! The kids did such a great job. They took their time and used their strategies. I think they were shocked in how boring it was after the test. LOL. 

Reading
We will finish up our book clubs next week. I'm hoping to finish our shared read aloud. "How to Steal a Dog". I'm loving this book and the kids are too. 
During reader's workshop, I plan to start reviewing the STAAR test with the students. This will go into the end of March. 

Writing
I am so impressed to see how the kids writing has grown this year. When I think about the first story they wrote at the beginning of the year to now.... WOW! The kids are saying things like, "You're story needs more tension or Let's build the character here" The students are able to notice this in the books we read. I encourage you when you're reading with your child, to ask them what they think/or notice about the writing. Students are finishing up their story. We will work on typing them if time permits.

Spelling: Spelling words will be passed out next week. The test will be after spring break. 

Social Studies
We are learn about Todd Beamer next week. We will read about him together and then answer some questions in whole group. 

Have a great Spring Break!!!

February 5-16

Seems to be a lot going on this month! Here's what's going on for the next two weeks.

Valentines party will be next week on Wednesday! Please have the kids bring their bag/box on Tuesday or Wednesday morning. We will pass out valentines before recess. 

Writing
We are in the process of building a criteria chart for "What Makes a Great story" Here's what we have so far. (see picture) We still have to discuss characterization, and qualities of good writing. We will add to the chart everyday until next week. Students will then read various SFML to see if they fit the criteria and how we can improve the story.

Grammar- This week is pronouns

Reading
We have been reviewing our strategies for Non-fiction. Tomorrow they will take a reading PSA. This will be for a grade considering it covers everything we have taught for non fiction over the last couple of weeks. (text features, main idea, cause/effect, etc.)
For reader's workshop, students are getting in groups to read non fiction articles. We are discussing the important events together. Students will then work in small groups to determine what new information they learned and discuss the authors purpose. Next week, students will share what they learned with the class.

Social Studies
The kiddos have a states test coming up. I will send home the letter and review sheet today in the Tuesday folders.
We are wrapping up Harriet Tubman this week and then moving on to Todd Beamer and Hector P. Garza next week.

Jan. 29th- Feb. 2

Writing
We are creating a criteria chart as a class of "What makes a GREAT SFML" Students so far have told me we need to have a story worth telling and clear structure. We will discuss how tension, well developed characters, and pacing adds to the story. Students will then get into groups to revise a story by adding craft elements.

Spelling- Test this Friday

Grammar- Students will be tested on prepositions on Friday. I gave the students a sheet to study to help them.

Reading
We worked on reading strategies as a class today over a non fiction passage. Students will complete a reading non fiction passage for a grade on Wednesday. Their reading PSA will be next week on Wednesday. I am continuing to meet with students one on one for an informal conference.

Social studies
We will discuss Harriet Tubman this week. 

January 22-26

Goodness, what a crazy month this had been!

It's all about catch up this week.

Reading
We are continuing with non-fiction! Last week we read an article about Polar Bears. The kids read it once and marked it up. We will now discuss the main idea and supporting details. Students will then answer some STAAR like questions using the article. We will do this together. I will take an observation grade on this. We are also reviewing our reading strategies. On Friday, we will do a practice passage together but this time over non-fiction.
I'll be holding one on one reading conferences this week and next. This grade will be based on the book they are reading during reader's workshop. I'm looking for fluency, accuracy, but most importantly, comprehension.


Writing
We are continuing to critique. Students have been reading base stories from my life. We've been discussing as a class what craft elements can be added to improve the story. I've been impressed in what they have to say. The kids will have a craft on Friday. They will need to know the definitions of each craft element. There will also be a reproduction activity with the quiz. (We have done this many times in the classroom). They will have a story out of order. They will need to put it back in order according to the story arc and then label the structure. I encourage you to ask your child to explain the different craft elements and how to do a reproduction activity. :)
They are continuing to work on their winter break stories. I hope to have them wrapped up by the end of the week.

MAP testing: Students will complete the language portion on Thursday. This will test be over conventions, grammar, spelling, etc.

Grammar- We are continuing with prepositional phrases. More than likely they will take the grammar quiz on Friday.

Social Studies
We will continue to study important people from our past. Students are taking notes in their social studies journal. I will send these home for you all to see once we are done.

January 3-12

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great holiday break and staying warm. Brr... talk about cold!

Here's what's going on for the next two weeks:

Reading
We are moving into the genre of Non-fiction. We will review text features and why they are important. Then we will move into main idea and supporting details. Students will be reading Scholastic News, Story Works, and Time for Kids to help them navigate this genre.
We are also starting the second round of MAP testing. Students will start testing next week. You should receive their report in the first week or two of February.

Writing
The students will be working on critiquing two stories for the next two weeks. We will discuss what went well with the story and how we can improve the story with craft elements. By the 19th of January, students will be tested over the craft elements. (Craft elements: inner thinking, dialogue, backstory, show/not tell, and descriptive details)

For writer's workshop, students will pick a small moment from their break to write about. This will be their first informal writing piece for the new year.

Grammar: Prepositions and prepositional phrases
Spelling: Continuing with homophones

Social studies
Our third nine weeks unit is focusing on influential people and how they impacted history or their community. We will focus on the following people: Kadir Nelson, Tommie DePaola, Phillis Wheatley, Hector Garcia, Harriet Tubman, Hellen Keller, etc. We will focus on one person a day, taking notes in their journal.

November 27-Dec. 1st

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving week! Spelling words and grammar homework came home today.

Reading
We are moving on to Poetry! Love this genre. We will focus on four different kinds of poetry: humorous, lyrical, narrative, and free verse. I will model how to track our thinking with poems, name and notice figurative language, and discuss the authors message. Students received a study stack today with various poems. We will mark up the poems together and then later use them for writing in the spring time. We will make an anchor chart of figurative language we are noticing in our study stack. Students will need to know the following: metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, and hyperbole. Feel free to study these terms with your child. The students will be tested over figurative language and poetry the last week before break (preferably in the beginning of the week).

Writing
We are working on our rough drafts for our SFML. We will meet in writing groups to conference about our base story, learn how to revise and edit, and then write the final product. This will take place over the next three weeks. My goal is to slow the kids down and look at ways to improve the story. (If that means we write the final product after break, then I will just grade their base story for structure.) We are starting a craft elements chart. So far we have noticed how authors use descriptive language in their writing. I expect for students to try to apply this in their own writing.

Grammar
We are reviewing adverbs. The students did a fun activity today with adverbs. We are constantly noticing adverbs in our read aloud and how it impacts the writing. Have your child point out adverbs they are noticing in their nightly reading for homework or when you both are reading together. Next grammar test will be next Friday, including their spelling test.
Side note: I did take out the grammar grades out of spelling category and put them into the writing category. Just FYI incase you noticed your child's grade change.

Social Studies
We will focus on the Founding Fathers closely and the branches of government.

November 13-17

 Don't forget about field day on Friday. If you plan on checking out your child afterwards, please see me or a third grade teacher to sign them out. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

Writing
We are going to take things slow. Instead of focusing our attention on craft (which we will still do in our shared read alouds) we are going to focus on storytelling and conferencing. I am going to put the kids in writing groups. They will get into their groups to storytell a SFML (story from my life) they plan on writing. From there, they will plan their story on the story arc. Students will then conference again in their writing groups to confirm their story has structure.

Reading
We are finishing up Traditional Literature this week. This week my plan is to review the reading benchmark with the kids. I've handed back their reading benchmark so they can see how they did and review questions they may have missed. I also plan on starting our next read aloud, " The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo. Love this book!

Social Studies
We are wrapping up our maps. Students will share their maps with a partner.

November 6-10

Writing
This week we are moving on to craft elements. We will name and notice craft elements in our read alouds and the stories we have already consumed. The craft elements we will focus on are: dialouge, inner thinking, backstory, descriptive details, and show/not tell. I encourage you when you are reading with your child at night, to point out the craft elements and discuss how it added to the story.

Grammar: We are reviewing adjectives this week. We are noticing how adjectives helps readers visualize. We are working on adding adjectives to our writing. Students will have a grammar test on Friday reviewing nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

Reading
We are having fun with traditional literature. Students have read myths, legends, fables, and fairy tales. They've been tracking their thinking with a graphic organizer.
Our focus this week is to teach the reading strategies. Students will have their first reading assessment on Thursday. They will read three passages and answer questions to go along with it.

Social Studies
The students are begging me this week for social studies time. They've been working on their island maps. Students had to create a map and include the following: key, compass rose, title, land forms, bodies of water, and overall presentation. I will hang the maps up in the hallway when they are finished. 

Don't forget the states test on Wednesday!

October 30- November 3

Writing
This week students will do SFML reproduction activities. They will put together a story they haven't heard before and label the structure. We are noticing craft (backstory, dialogue, inner thinking, etc) in our reading. Slowly I will expect students to add craft to their stories.
Students will choose a SFML to write about. It can be a story they written in the past as long as they go back and revise it. I've stressed to the class the importance of conferencing with a group and myself.

Grammar: The students had a noun quiz this past friday. Overall, the kids did well. We introduced/reviewed verbs last week.We will look at verbs in isolation and within our reading. I encourage you to point out the parts of speech in their nightly reading.

Reading
We are moving on to Traditional literature. We will discuss the characteristics of traditional literature. We will read mythology, fables, legends, etc. On Friday, I will introduce the reading strategies using a traditional literature story.
Students are wrapping up their book clubs. I will put them in new books clubs based on student choice. 

Social Studies
We will work on a map project. Students will create their own map. They need to have a legend, compass rose, land forms, and cities. This project is always a lot of fun.

Remember Thursday and Friday are half days. We will dismiss at noon. I look forward to meeting to speaking with you all.

Writing
We are continuing with story mapping and marking up the text. This week our story is called, "The Yeller...or so I Thought" Students will label the structure in small groups.

Spelling: Students are taking home a spelling journal today. I introduced the spelling words for the week and we sorted the words together in their journal. They will take home their spelling journal so they can use it to help them study their spelling words. We will also use their spelling journal as a reference to help them spell during writer's workshop.

Grammar: We are continuing with nouns (common, proper, singular, and plural) this week. Grammar homework was passed out today. It will be due on Friday. We will go over the homework and place in the grammar section of their writing binder.

Reading
We are continuing with characterization and how characters change over time. Students will be assessed this week (hopefully if time permits) on characterization using their graphic organizer.
We will continue with book clubs. I have been so impressed in their active discussion skills. They are saying some great things about shared read aloud.

Social Studies
We are continuing with map skills.

October 9-13

Happy Columbus Day!

Writing:
Our focus for the next couple of weeks will be to map stories. Students will read the story, " The Yeller...or so I Thought" First students will do a first read and mark it up. Then they will read it again looking to see how the story is structured. (looking at the STS, IE, RA, Climax, FA, and Resolution).
We will map the story on the story arc.

Grammar:
Yay, we are officially starting grammar! For the next two week, students will learn/review common/proper nouns and singular/plural nouns. Students will receive grammar homework next week on Monday. They will have a grammar test over nouns, but that won't be until Friday, the 27th.

Spelling:
Students will have their spelling test this Friday over the triple R blends. 

Reading:
We have been diving into realistic fiction. This week we will look how characters change over time and how specific events change the character. I will introduce a new graphic organizer to them and we will practice using it.
Reader's workshop: Students will continue to read, track their thinking, and participate in book clubs.

Social Studies
We are having fun with maps this week. We will look over latitude/longitude, map skills, and review land forms. Our final project will be to create their own maps with a key, compass rose, land forms, etc.

October 2-6

I look forward to meeting some of you this week for the start of October conferences. 

Writing
This week our focus is on story mapping. We will read a story together as a class. We will
"mark it up" meaning we will read it first discussing what that story was about and take notes. We will then read it for a second time to map the story on the story arc. The focus is for students to see how stories are structured. (Setting, initiating event, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution).

Reading
We are starting our second read aloud, "Oggie Cooder" by Sarah Weeks. I love this book! It's a great book to discussion characterization, motivation, and how characters change over time. We will track our thinking together as class and write reading responses.

Social Studies
We are moving on to government. We will read the Social Studies Weekly news article together as a class and take notes in our journal.

Spelling: Spelling words will be passed out tomorrow. The students have two weeks to study their words.

September 25-29

Writing
This week students are writing their stories from the life. This is an informal writing piece. It will give me a chance to see where I need to start our writing instruction as a class. It's been nice to see the students conference with each other for help.

Reading
I am currently assessing the students reading this week. I will test their fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. I'll share this data with you all during our October conferences. During reader's workshop, students are expected to track their thinking in their reading journal. We have done this as a class with our class read aloud, "Third Grade Angels".
We are starting a new class read aloud, "Oggie Cooder" by Sarah Weeks. I showed the kids last week how I mark up the text in the book. They were a little shocked that I was writing in the book itself. If your child would like their own book to mark up the text, here is the link to order from Barnes and Noble. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/oggie-cooder-sarah-weeks/1100995526?ean=9780439927949
Please know purchasing the book is optional. I do read under the document camera so the kids can see the text. I like to pause and notice things authors do in their writing.

Social Studies
We are finishing up our "Where in the World Are You" unit this week. Students took notes in small group and will finish up on their own.

September 18-22

Happy Monday!

Reading
This week we are reviewing the parts of the DRA. We will read, "Each Kindess" by Jacqueline Woodson. We will use this picture book to do a practice DRA as a class. I want students to understand what is being asked of them when they go to do the DRA on their own the following week.
We are continuing to review the routines of reader's workshop. As a class, our goal is to build our reading stamina. Reading homework is to read 20-30 minutes each night.

Book fair is this week! If you haven't seen it yet, it's AWESOME!!! In all my years here, I've never seen a book fair this awesome before. Students will go as a class on Wednesday to buy books. They may go during the week during class, but at an appropriate time.

Writing
We will spend all week story telling. Students will share stories with a partner. I'm hoping students will have connections to each other's stories so they can add more ideas to their "idea list" By Friday, students need to pick a SFML (story from my life) to write about.

Spelling
We have started spelling this week. A spelling list was passed out. Students will be tested on September 29th, meaning they will have the words for two weeks. I do not have spelling homework in my class. I expect the students to study their words to prepare them for the test. How you would like to study is up to you. I did pass out a spelling menu to give them ideas in how to study. They can try these activities out or do none of them at all, if they wish. Later on in the year, students will have grammar homework.

Social studies
Theme is week is "Where in the World Are You?" We will discuss Christopher Columbus, latitude and longitude, and map skills.