Hi Third Grade Family!
Welcome back to school! I'm sure everyone had a fun summer! We have a lot to do this cycle so here's what's up.
Spelling:
Our list this week are plural words with -s, -es, and -ies
1. pennies
2. inches
3. families
4. families
5. bodies
6. glasses
7. wishes
8. pockets
9. lists
10. copies
11. parties
12. bunches
13. crashes
14. supplies
15. pencils
Our homework: Tuesday (write the list in A-B-C order in your journal), Wednesday (write the singular form for each spelling- example pennies = penny), Thursday (worksheet), Friday (study for your spelling test), Monday (no homework, just be ready for the spelling test!)
Reading:
This cycle we will be looking at texts and deciding what makes a text a complex one. We'll be reading the selections "What About Me?" (a fable) and "How the Desert Tortoise Got Its Shell". To help us we will use the Monitor Understand/Clarify Problems reading strategy. In essence that means that the students will need to read closely and listen to their "inner conversations" and find places where their understanding of the text falls apart and how to fix those problems. Also talk to your student about the concept of bartering and about how money is used today.
Our homework: Students should read, independently, for 20 minutes each day from a book which they have chosen. They should complete 5 entries in their reading log which will be checked for a homework grade on Mondays (9/15 and 9/22). While your child reads have them use the Monitor/Clarify strategy while they read a challenging text.
Social Studies:
This week we are starting Social Studies by studying Geography. Check with your child to make sure that he/she has finished H12-H20. On these pages your child will be looking closely at maps and how they work. Key vocabulary that will help them are:
map
border
titles
symbol
key
compass rose
political map
physical map
landform
bodies of water (oceans, gulf, rivers, lakes, and so on)
natural features
grid
history map
You may want to have your child bring home their Social Studies text to review these concepts with them. There will be a short Social Studies quiz on these concepts next Monday.
Later we will move on to Communities and studying what they are and looking at some examples starting with El Paso, TX. Take some time out and go on a virtual scavenger hunt with your child and see what else you can learn about this important Texas city.
