Weekly Wrap Up

Learning to identify the main idea of a section of nonfiction text is hard work for a third grader! Your children have been working SUPER hard at it this week with lessons from from Mrs. Steck, our Literacy Resource Teacher, and me. An example of the way your child is learning to identify and state the main idea is in the picture below.

If your child is reading a nonfiction book at home, you can ask him/her to pick one section of it and tell you the main idea. It should be in a full sentence.They might need a reminder that it should be what the whole section was about, not just one part of it. Next week we’ll work more on this skill, as well as identifying supporting details that tell more about the main idea.

Once the snow starts to fly and your child is wearing boots, feel free to send in a pair of shoes for them to change into if you don’t want them in snow boots all day. I’ll be sure to give them time to change back into their boots before they head out.

If you have any extra plastic grocery store type bags around your house, we could use them in the classroom. They come in handy when kids have a cold and need a personal trash bag for tissues, forget their backpack at home, or have more stuff to carry home than can fit in their bag. Thanks!

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Social Studies: Cultures Across CT
• Math: Multiplication
• Reading: Finding the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction texts
• Writing: Rough drafts of nonfiction (information) texts

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Weekly Wrap Up

Do you know about the website, multiplication.com?  It’s free and has fabulous games for students to practice their multiplication facts. Now that we are well into our study of multiplication, your child should be including multiplication into his/her fact practice at home. As a reminder, we only go up to the 10’s in third grade, although I go ahead and teach them the 11’s, and strategies for the 12’s. Also, as a reminder, the math program we use does not teach the facts in sequence. Unit 5 covered 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10. Unit 6, which we will start towards the middle of next week, will cover the rest. After that, we move on to division!

As the holiday season approaches, we often spend a great deal of time thinking about giving to others. At this time of the year, students and their families often like to give gifts to their teachers. This is certainly a very thoughtful and well-appreciated gesture. However, I feel that when one gives, the more people that can receive, the better. So this year, if you and your child would like to give, instead of giving me a gift please consider giving classroom a gift that all of the children can enjoy. If you want to do this, but need ideas, I’ve asked the kids to help me brainstorm a list of things they’d like to have in the classroom. From that list I created an Amazon wishlist. You can find it here: http://a.co/0dyF07a. Please don’t feel obligated to get anything from that list, I just wanted to put together something from the students that has what they wish they could have in their classroom.

Please make sure your child’s name is marked on their coats, hats, gloves, scarves, etc… Things can get left behind in specials classes or in the cafeteria, and can be more easily returned or found if there’s a name in them.

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Social Studies: Cultures Across CT
• Math: Multiplication
• Reading: Structures of nonfiction texts, finding the main idea in nonfiction texts (this is one of our big 3rd grade skills that we continually work on)
• Writing: Organizing information to begin writing nonfiction (information) texts

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Weekly Wrap Up

This is the time of year when we often pause to reflect on things we are thankful for. I want you to know that I’m so very thankful to have a class of children who are genuinely nice, care about and help each other, and work hard to learn new things each and every day. It is truly a joy to come to work each day and spend time with your children! They continue to put a smile on my face and make my heart sing! I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

As the holiday season approaches, we often spend a great deal of time thinking about giving to others. At this time of the year, students and their families often like to give gifts to their teachers. This is certainly a very thoughtful and well-appreciated gesture. However, I feel that when one gives, the more people that can receive, the better. So this year, if you and your child would like to give, instead of giving me a gift please consider giving the classroom a gift that all of the children can enjoy. If you want to do this, but need ideas, I’ll be asking the kids to help me brainstorm a list of things they’d like to have in the classroom or that need to be replaced. From that list I’ll created an Amazon wishlist and send home the link in the next newsletter. Please don’t feel obligated to get anything from that list, I just wanted to put together something from the students that has what they wish they could have, or feel we need, in their classroom.

On Wednesday we’re making slime in class!  It’s a VERY messy activity. Your child is very likely to get it on their clothes. Please don’t send them to school in good clothes that day.

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Social Studies: Cultures Across CT
• Science: Matter experiments
• Math: Multiplication
• Reading: Unit 2 pretest on nonfiction (information). Begin looking at nonfiction (information) text features.

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Weekly Wrap Up

Today your child brought home the permission slip for our field trip to Indian Rock in Bristol. There’s a very short turn around time for this to be returned. Please sign and return it as soon as possible, but no later than Thursday of this week. This trip is the day after our Thanksgiving break, and we go rain or shine. We are outside for most of the day, so it’s important to dress for the weather and wear sturdy shoes. We need 2 chaperones, so if you’re interested be sure to return those forms, too! Those are needed by this Wednesday.

Don’t forget to try to set aside time from 2:45-3:15 this Friday, November 18 for Curl Up and Read time at Toffolon. Join your child in the classroom for a special half hour of reading together. Let them share some of their favorite classroom reads with you, and see a little of what they’re learning in action! Siblings from other classes are welcome to join us, as long as you send a note to their teacher. Also, if you want your child to leave our room and go to a sibling’s room, please send a note.

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Reader’s Workshop: Unit 1 test and unit 2 pretest
• Science: States of Matter, and physical and chemical changes of matter
• Social Studies: Cultures Across CT
• Math: Multiplication

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Weekly Wrap Up

Please try to set aside time from 2:45-3:15 on November 18 for Curl Up and Read time at Toffolon. Join your child in the classroom for a special half hour of reading together. Let them share some of their favorite classroom reads with you, and see a little of what they’re learning in action! Siblings from other classes are welcome to join us, as long as you send a note to their teacher. Also, if you want your child to leave our room and go to a sibling’s room, please send a note.

This week we started learning about the meanings of multiplication. Later next week we start with the facts. Our math program does not do them in order (0-10). Topic 5 covers multiplying by 2, 5, 9, 1, 0, and 10, in that order. I also throw in 11 since it’s so easy. Late in the week or early the following week, ask your child to show you the nine’s trick with their hands. I’ll also tweet out a video of the trick on the day we learn it.

Along with studying addition and subtraction facts, your child can begin studying multiplication facts. The website multiplication.com has some great games that kids tend to love. The “Just for Kids” page on our class website has many resources listed by topic, as well as basic fact sites. I hear that the dollar stores also have traditional flash cards. One thing I find is that in their excitement to learn something new and “grown up” kids often fall back in their subtraction progress as they focus on multiplication. So, they’ll need to keep circling back to study subtraction facts (and addition too).

Once again we are collecting treats for troops. This is a great chance for your child to be a Goodness Gorilla (ask them what this means). Please send in a bit of extra Halloween candy between Nov. 7-11. It will be distributed to our troops serving around the world!

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Reader’s Workshop: Unit skills review with summarizing, character traits, and predicting.

• Science: States of Matter, and physical and chemical changes of matter

• Math: Meanings of multiplication and multiplying by 2 ,5, and 9

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Weekly Wrap Up

Yes, it’s true, I told your kids today that gum is welcome in our room starting on Monday. You should have heard the cheers when I said that! So, as long as it’s okay with you, they can have it in class. The only rules I have are that they can’t share their gum with others (so your child is only doing what you want him/her to do), they have to keep it in their mouth, not chew like a cow, and they can’t lay down with it. If they leave the room for specials, lunch, or a wellness break, they have to throw it away.

Just as a reminder, here are all the ways (as of right now) that I regularly communicate and share information…

• The newsletter that goes home in print just about every Friday. If your child needs more than one copy and isn’t getting it, please be sure to let me know.
• This blog, where I post everything from the newsletter, and occasionally post more. You can choose to sign up to be notified by email when I post. Please know that if you ask a question in the comments section of the blog, I’ll respond through my district email.
• Twitter, where I post almost daily recaps of what we’re learning, pictures, and sometimes links to resources we use in class. You can choose to either sign up on Twitter to follow us at http://twitter.com/MrsCarnevale3rd, or just go to the feed and see what was posted. Like the blog, if you reply to a tweet with a question, I’ll respond through my district email.

As you know, part of our learning often includes participating in a variety of learning experiences using technology. That means that children might be sharing headphones throughout the day. If you do not want your child sharing headphones used by others, in either the classroom or the computer lab, you can send in a pair of headphones or earbuds in a baggie with their name on it. They can keep it either in the classroom or in their locker.

Stuffed animals, pillow pets, and small blankets are all welcome during reading time. If it makes your child cozy and able to focus on their reading, then I welcome it in our room! The items have to stay in their locker until reading time.

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Reader’s Workshop: Unit skills review with summarizing, character traits, and predicting.
• Writer’s Workshop: Finish typing and illustrating personal narrative story. 
• Math: Topic 4 - Meanings of Multiplication

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!

Weekly Wrap Up

Next week we finish up our study of addition and subtraction as your child learns to do what is called, “three digit subtraction across zeros with regrouping.”  What this means is learning how to do subtraction problems like 400-214. This can be a very tricky skill for third graders. I’ll be teaching it through the use of base ten blocks on the computer and iPad, which allows the students to drag and drop the blocks, as well as break them apart, which helps them see the regrouping needed. 

Since this skill can be so tricky for students, I’m going to make a change for homework next week only. Instead of math fact practice, I’m going to give them a regrouping practice sheet on Monday, and ask for it to be worked on at home during the week, and returned by Friday. It shouldn’t take them more than a total of 30-40 minutes during the entire week. If you find that it’s taking more, please have them stop, and send it back to me with a note. 

If you have an iPad and would like the same app we use, it’s Number Pieces Basic (by Math Learning Center). If your child wants to use the website, it’s linked off our class Just for Kids webpage. Also, your child can always re-watch the video that goes with lesson 3-9, found on the enVision website.

Our class wish list includes the following:

• Small plastic cups - for when kids don’t have a water bottle
• Animal print duct tape - great for repairing broken binders and notebooks, and so many other things 
• Ziplock type baggies with slider -sandwich size for storing word work materials each week, and many other uses 

Here's what we're learning about next week:

• Reader’s Workshop: Unit skills review
• Writer’s Workshop: Putting together all the pieces that go into personal narrative writing, and working on individual goals
• Math: 3-digit subtraction with regrouping

Please remember that my door is always open if you have any questions or concerns. I also check email frequently. Together we are partners in your child’s education!