A Sneak Peek At Our Week ...

Morning Work: Students will begin independently completing vocabulary practice this week with new and interesting words they have been finding during our classroom read-alouds.  Students will practice using context clues to infer the meanings of these words using the PAVE format (here is a brief description of the format students will follow - PAVE format).

Interactive Read-Aloud:  This week we will be reading a mini-chapter book that is part of the Inch & Miles Journey to Success series.  

Reading:  We will begin a new unit during Reader's Workshop focused on Self-Monitoring & Context Clues.  The Third Grade website will be updated with unit information and resources soon!  The following are enduring understandings of the unit:

• How does our inner voice change between genres and how does it stay the same?
• How can readers prepare and participate in thoughtful discussions about texts?
• What strategies can we use when our inner voice becomes confused?

Writing:  Students will finish typing their "Buddy & Me" paragraphs this week and will post them to their blogs.  Near the end of this week, on Thursday and Friday, we will kick-off writer's workshop with a focus on paragraph construction and organization.  Students will practice brainstorming ideas related to a topic, generating details to support the topic, elaborating/explaining those details, and then creating a topic and closing sentence to reflect the main idea of their writing.   

Math:  Instruction will focus on lessons 1.2-1.6 this week.  During Unit 1: Naming & Constructing Geometric Figures students will review concepts and ideas previously learned in Everyday Math.  One of our focuses during this unit is providing opportunities for the students to understand and practice the math station routines in the classroom.  Information and resources for Unit 1 can be found on the following website: EMD: Unit 1.

*** In the past, many parents have asked for additional math resources for their child to be using and practicing at home.  This week, each child will be given an IXL checklist for Unit 1 (this can also be found on the unit page on the Third Grade website).  Each IXL activity listed on the checklist correlates specifically with each EDM lesson!

*** Homework for math will start this week!  Please read the previous post for more information about homework in third grade.  

Social Studies: Towards the end of this week students will be starting Unit 1: Before Chicago.  Before students start exploring the unit's guiding questions, they will complete an informational text study that focuses on taking a historical look at different Native American groups in the U.S.  The class will be divided into groups, each group learning about about the history of different Native people - the Nez Perce, Pueblos, Iroquois, and Cheyenne.  Check out the Third Grade website for more information on this unit!