Few and far between

I apologize for the delay in blog communication. I have been updating our class Facebook regularly. If you are on Facebook, please consider joining our page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008815694667 or search MrsYuskas Class. 

Hopefully as the busy world of tax season (my husband is a tax accountant) comes to an end, my attention to details will be back up to the way I would like it to be. However, having 3 children (ages 7, 4, and 11 months) and creating things for new curriculum have sometimes gotten the best of me. Sorry, but the blog is one thing that tends to drop on my list as I do not want to let go of anything we do in our classroom. 

Anyway, on to fresh starts..... I will try to post a blog of just pictures you may have missed in the month of March. 

This week: 

Spelling

Our building has been doing a lot of work this year studying the most recent research on how students learn the art of reading.  As you know, there are only so many minutes in the day, so we had to look at what we were currently doing that wasn't giving us our greatest “bang for our buck.”  As a third grade team we identified our spelling practice routines (also known as Words their Way) as being one of those structures. We therefore will no longer be assigning kids new spelling words each week and instead will be discussing long vowel sounds and vowel teams as we help kids to become better readers.  This doesn't mean that because your child won't be bringing words home that you can't continue to help them grow with their learning.  Please use this time that you would have practiced spelling as an additional time that you can read with your child.

Word Analysis

This week we are working on looking at noticing and finding vowel teams in our reading. We are looking at which sounds the vowel teams make. This week we are looking at /ai/ei/ay/ patterns, which make the long a vowel sound.

Reading

This week are reading the story The Talking Cloth. This is a picture book that tells a story about a family and provides an introduction into West African culture. In our story Aunt Phoebe, a wise and seasoned traveler, tells Amber, her niece about the adinkra cloth and how it is meant to be used. The aunt helps Amber understand another culture and how their family is related to the Ashanti people of Ghana.

Writing: 

This week we started writing opinion writing. We used the “Oreo” to include all parts of our paragraphs. We started writing about what we think is the best way to eat an Oreo cookie. This week we will also write about if we were superheroes, what special super power we would want. At the end the week we will write our own opinion piece of writing. 

Math

We are continuing working on Topic 11 in math. This topic covers two-dimensional shapes and their attributes. 

BIG IDEA: Geometric Figures- Two- and three-dimensional objects with or without curved surfaces can be described, classified, and analyzed by their attributes. An object’s location in space can be described. 

This week we are breaking apart and changing the problem into simpler ones and using solutions to solve the original problem.

 

Social Studies

We are starting our Industrialization unit.

Concepts we are covering are: Power, Progress, and Culture. 

Power- 

*There are certain characteristics that give a person power. (Gender, Ethnicity, Group, having more numbers, Money).

*It is the people with power who get to make decisions and drive forward progress.

*Power can shift to the people who are willing to fight for it, gather a crowd, and want it the most.

*There are both benefits and drawbacks to power– people expect more of you, treat you differently, and there is stress involved in controlling people. People in power often are not liked.

We are trying to discuss then and now with things such as farming, child labor, factories, and everyday things. 

Homework

This week your child has a poem called “Eggs.” This poem is due on Thursday. Students should also be reading 10-15 minutes or more nightly and working on their math facts. 

Upcoming Dates:

April 2nd: Poetry folder due

April 3rd :  NO SCHOOL (Good Friday)

April 13th :  NO SCHOOL

May 4th: NO SCHOOL

May 25th: NO SCHOOL (Memorial Day)

Specials Schedule  

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
30 World Language	31 Art *Library Checkout	1 Music	2 P.E.	3 No School

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU……..

April Birthday’s

Riese – April 13th

 Have a great week!
Mrs. Jodie Yuska