Welcome Back!

It was so wonderful to open the door yesterday morning to find a line of smiling, sunshiny faces looking back at me!  My family and I had a busy and enjoyable holiday weekend, but I missed those faces quite a bit. 

After welcoming a new student to our classroom family on Monday, we got right back into our daily routines.  Here is a quick rundown of this week's areas of focus. 

Reading:  This week's main selection is a Cherokee legend titled Yonder Mountain by Robert H. Bushyhead.  We are using this story, as well as our small group books, to practice comparing and contrasting characters. 

Grammar:  Subject-verb agreement is our topic this week.  Students are learning that if the subject is singular in a present-tense sentence, the verb needs either an -s or an -es added on the end. 

Spelling:  The focus of the week is on contractions.  Please remember that spelling lists should be coming home every Monday in order to practice the words throughout the week. 

Math:  We began Unit 5 on Monday.  This unit is centered upon place value, both with whole numbers and with fractions and decimals.  Students should continue to practice their triangle multiplication flashcards a few times a week for quick and accurate recall. 

Science:  Our Water unit is off to a great start!  Yesterday, we brainstormed many different ways that we use water each day.  Today, we investigated what drops of water do on different surfaces:  paper towel, white copy paper, aluminum foil, and wax paper.  Can you guess which one was the class favorite?  The class couldn't believe how much fun could be had with a dropper, a cup of water, and paper!  Here are some pictures from our first investigation.

Jalen was proud of his tinfoil drops.

How many drops can he fit on there?



Kristi's Leopard Paw



Reminders:

*Students are encouraged to dress in their favorite sports team attire and/or color tomorrow (Wednesday).
*November reading logs are due this Friday, November 30. 

Have a great rest of the week!
Mrs. Johnsen
johnsen.jill@iccsd.k12.ia.us

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This week has flown by and I still can't believe we're already halfway through November.  I want to thank all of you for coming in and spending time discussing your child during parent/teacher conferences.  I am so confident that we are a great team and, together, can do wonderful things for these children.  Thank you for giving me an opportunity to teach your children and learn from them. 

Quick Curriculum Update:

Reading:  Our comprehension strategy this week has been to identify story structure within different texts (characters, setting, problem, plot events, and solution).  We have also been using details to visualize what is occuring during these stories. 

Vocabulary:  This week has been so much fun!  We have been learning about idioms and trying to figure out the true meaning of these expressions.  Our class has had a strange obsession with the idiom "killing two birds with one stone" since the beginning of the year so we have enjoyed learning about its origin!

Writing:  We have been working on writing descriptive paragraphs and/or poems about our favorite Thanksgiving food (or family food for those who do not celebrate Thanksgiving).  Our paragraphs need to include a topic sentence, descriptive, sensory language, and two examples of onomotopoeia.  We have been trying to keep our rumbling tummies under control during our writing times!

Social Studies:  This week has been focusing on the cardinal and intermediate directions on a map.  We listened to a song called, "North, South, East, and West" and many of us choreographed lyrical movements as we sang (others just laughed)!

Math:  Students should have brought home a Unit 4 review sheet this evening.  They will be taking their test on Monday.  All students should be practicing their multiplication triangle flashcards at least two to three times a week. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break and enjoy your family time! 
Mrs. Johnsen
johnsen.jill@iccsd.k12.ia.us

Hello, wonderful third grade families!  We have had a busy and productive beginning of our week. 

Crriculum Update:

Reading:  Our main selection this week is a biography titled Jump! by Floyd Cooper.  This biography is about Michael Jordan's life. We are using this text, as well as our small group reading books, to locate and identify facts and opinions.  We are also practicing the questioning strategy to help us better understand what we read.  The students enjoyed the little story I told them about one of my high school jobs in the suburbs of Chicago. I worked in the "Kids Club" of the upscale country club that the Jordan family belonged to and was able to watch his children from time to time.  Unfortunately, I only met Michael once (and probably made a fool out of myself!) because his wife typically dropped the kids off.  I'm pretty sure I knew all of the words to the movie Space Jam while employed there!

Writing:  Because of upcoming Veteran's Day, students are composing letters of appreciation to local veterans.  We will be putting these out during our assembly on Monday morning and sending some to the VA Hospital in Iowa City. 

Spelling:  This week is focusing on the oy and oi diphthongs.  The spelling test will be on Thursday since there is no school for students on Friday.

Grammar:  This week focuses on changing nouns that end in y into plural nouns.  We have been chanting, "Drop the y, turn it into an i, and add an -es" every time we practice! 

Math:  Students have been working on completing multiplication and division diagrams in order to solve number stories (Drop the y, turn it into an i, and add an -es!).  Their homework tonight is a great example of what we have been working on in class.  We also made a little ditty/chant to remember some new math terms:  dividend, divisor, quotient.  :)

Social Studies:  We have been focusing a lot on the election this week.  The rest of the week will be dedicated to completing chapter one in our Social Studies Alive! text. 

A few quick notes:

*Please help your child remember to fill out his/her November reading logs with the length of time and title of the story each night. 

*Multplication/Division triangle flashcards are in your child's zipper pocket of the Leopard Book.  These should go home each night and come back to school every day.  Students are expected to practice these facts a few times a week. 


Have a great rest of the week! 
Mrs. Johnsen
johnsen.jill@iccsd.k12.ia.us