Weekly Newsletter week of January 29th

Good morning 3AH parents, 

What a busy week we had in Grade 3. Students were busy brainstorming questions to answer and projects to create for Genius Hour. It is great to see their creative juices flowing! This will be a shorter week starting on day 2, with Wednesday a day off for Thaipusam. 

Reading

This week students will continue to research their book club topic and share their findings with a group. Students will learn how to keep a book club conversation going by adding on to others ideas and asking questions. 

Writing

Students will continue to work on saying more about each of their reasons. Students will learn that when writers write to convince someone they only put in their best, most convincing evidence. We will also begin to use paragraphs as a way to organize their reasons.

Math

We are continuing to work on finding the area of rectangles. Students will learn about the distributive property as a way to solve area problems and as a strategy to multiply using base 10 blocks. Take a look at this progression video to see how we do this. 

Social Studies

We are lucky to have 2 parent experts come in and speak with grade 3. The topics will be archeology and the legacies that ancient civilizations leave us. 

January 29th- February 2nd. Choose 2 activities to complete before Friday to share in class.

Math:

• Roll 2 dice to find the factors (3, 7) Multiply and make an array or area model to find the product. Repeat until your products add to 100. 

AND/OR

• If you know 2x6=12 how will that help you solve 4x6? Explain to someone.

Language Arts: 

• Would you rather be an archeologist or a veterinarian? Give reasons and say more to explain.

AND/OR

• Write a story where the villain is actually a hero.

Social Studies

Write down 2 things you learned from the grade 3 expert parents who came in this week. 

Other: Make a grocery list of things needed for a meal your family is eating this week. Then, go and get those items with an adult. After, make that meal! 

Remember: Reading is just what we do. It is expected each night.

Newsletter Week of January 22nd

Week of January 22nd-26th

We had a fantastic week of learning in 3AH! As we launched our Ancient Civilization unit,

students learned about some of the ancient civilizations and the type of

dwelling they lived in. Next week we will look at some artifacts and 

investigate what they were used for, where they come from, and how 

old they think the items are. 
This semester, students will have time in their week to explore a topic

 they are passionate about. We are calling this time Genius Hour. This week, we

started by brainstorming different topics we love, things that interest us,

ways we spend our free time, types of books we read or shows we watch.

This list of ideas will help us choose a topic to explore further.

If you would like to know more about genius hour, here are a couple

of links we showed the kids.

What is Genius Hour?

Genius Hour in the Classroom

Visit with your child about some of the ideas they came up with this week.

What are your passions? Share them with your child? Perhaps you want

to have a genius hour project of your own!

This week begins on a day 3

Reminder: ASA sign-ups will close on Monday, January 22nd at 10:00 am sharp!

Reading Students will continue to analyzing different nonfiction books. We will be determining what makes a quality children’s nonfiction book. Some of the elements we will look at are:infographics, back matter, layout, interest level, and more. This week we will also be working in nonfiction reading book clubs to read, discuss, and ask questions of a shared reading.

Writing Students will continue writing persuasive speeches. The focus this week will be on gathering and organizing information about their opinion. We will also working on elaborating our writing by proving through showing rather than telling their reader.

Math We will continue our multiplication and area unit. This weeks focus will be on breaking apart numbers to multiply more easily (ex. 12x8= (10x8) + (2x8)). This is called the distributive property. We will also continue to explore using square units to measure area, solve real-world problems dealing with area, and continue to reinforce our addition/subtraction/multiplication/division facts. Please continue to help your child practice these at home!

Social Studies As we dive deeper into our ancient civilizations unit we will take a closer look at the different features of successful civilizations. We will be looking closely at Ancient China. We will start by looking at how location impacted China. Then students will be choosing a civilization to study independently.

Math Games

Hello 3AH parents,

Below are some math games you can plan at home to support your child in math.

Enjoy, Alasdair

Multiplication War card gameRole 2 numbers and write the fact families (4,2: 4x2=8, 2x4=8, 8/4=2 8/4=2)Fact TrianglesDice and Card Games

Here are some math games on the computer:
Mathbreakers https://www.mathbreakers.comMotion Math http://motionmathgames.com/Dragon Box http://www.dragonboxapp.com/Refraction http://play.centerforgamescience.org/refraction/site/Wuzzit Trouble http://innertubegames.netMancala http://www.coolmath-games.com/0-mancala/
And so much more on our Parent Learning Connection Site!

Swim Dates

Semester 2 2018 - Aquatics Information

The first Swimming lesson for the year will take place on Monday Day 2 January 29th please remind both your students and parents of the expectations as we have been following in P.E. aquatics. Also, see the days and dates your students/class will be in the pool.

Aquatics Class

Students will need to bring

• Swimsuit

• Towel
• Long hair to be tied back

Goggles and swim caps are optional. There is no "ISKL school swimsuit". Appropriate swim attire (one piece swimsuit or swim bottoms and rash shirt).  

If students forget their swim gear, they can borrow a swimsuit if available or they can use their PE uniform. If students cannot swim for any reason, a detailed email or note must explain why.

Semester 2 Aquatics- Days & Dates

Start Date: January 29th

Finish Date: May 10th

Gail Smith - Day 1 & 2

Tim Fischer - Day 3 & 4

Amy Simpson - Day 5 & 6

Tuk - Day 2

Gail Smith Day 1: (Grade 5 Odd, Grade 3 Odd, Grade 2CP,)

1. Tuesday, February 6, 2018
2. Wednesday, February 14, 2018
3. Monday, February 26, 2018
4. Tuesday, March 6, 2018
5. Friday, March 16, 2018
6. Tuesday, April 3, 2018
7. Wednesday, April 11, 2018
8. Thursday, April 19, 2018
9. Wednesday, May 2, 2018
10. Thursday, May 10, 2018

Gail Smith Day 2: Grade 4Even, Grade 2AL.

1. Monday, January 29, 2018
2. Wednesday, February 7, 2018
3. Monday, February 19, 2018
4. Tuesday, February 27, 2018
5. Friday, March 9, 2018
6. Tuesday, March 20, 2018
7. Wednesday, April 4, 2018
8. Thursday, April 12, 2018
9. Friday, April 20, 2018
10. Thursday, May 3, 2018

Tuk Day 2: Grade 5, Grade 3, Grade 1 AA & Prep Senior SA

1. Monday, January 29, 2018
2. Wednesday, February 7, 2018
3. Monday, February 19, 2018
4. Tuesday, February 27, 2018
5. Friday, March 9, 2018
6. Tuesday, March 20, 2018
7. Wednesday, April 4, 2018
8. Thursday, April 12, 2018
9. Friday, April 20, 2018
10. Thursday, May 3, 2018

Tim Fischer Day 3: (Grade 5, Grade 4, Grade 3, Grade 2ER, Grade 1MT, Prep AS)

1. Tuesday, January 30, 2018
2. Thursday, February 8, 2018
3. Tuesday, February 20, 2018
4. Wednesday, February 28, 2018
5. Monday, March 12, 2018
6. Wednesday, March 21, 2018
7. Thursday, April 5, 2018
8. Friday, April 13, 2018
9. Monday, April 23, 2018
10. Friday, May 4, 2018

Tim Fischer Day 4: (Grade 5, Grade 4, Grade 3, Grade 2 AS, )

1. Wednesday, January 31, 2018
2. Friday, February 9, 2018
3. Wednesday, February 21, 2018
4. Thursday, March 1, 2018
5. Tuesday, March 13, 2018
6. Thursday, March 22, 2018
7. Friday, April 6, 2018
8. Monday, April 16, 2018
9. Tuesday, April 24, 2018
10. Monday, May 7, 2018

Amy Simpson Day 5:  3rd, 4th & 5th grade ODD,  Grade 1MB, PS-KM

1. Friday, Feb 2, 2018
2. Monday, Feb 12, 2018
3. Thursday, Feb 22, 2018
4. Friday, March 2, 2018
5. Wednesday, March 14, 2018
6. Friday, March 23, 2018
7. Monday, April 9, 2018
8. Tuesday, April 17, 2018
9. Wednesday, April 25, 2018
10. Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Amy Simpson Day 6:  3rd 4th & 5th grades EVEN, Grade 1FH, PS-LM

1. Monday, February 5, 2018
2. Tuesday, February 13, 2018
3. Friday, February 23, 2018
4. Monday, March 5, 2018
5. Thursday, March 15, 2018
6. Monday, March 19, 2018
7. Monday, April 2, 2018
8. Tuesday, April 10, 2018
9. Wednesday, April 18, 2018
10. Thursday, April 26, 2018
11. Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Newsletter Week of January 15th

Week of January 15th-19th

Happy New Year! It was so much fun seeing all of the kids this week and reconnecting as a class.
I hope that you all had a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday. All of the kids were excited about seeing their friends,
sharing stories, and getting back into a class routine. With a new year, we talked a lot about setting goals and resolutions. Please check your child's blog to see their post about a goal they set at the beginning of the year.
We started our persuasive writing unit and the kids are all excited to convince others in the class, in the school, and perhaps at home. So please be prepared for all of the persuading that might be happening this month.We are all very excited for a fabulous second semester and we
welcome many new families to our third-grade community. Please reach out and help them all feel welcome!
This week begins on a day 4

Reading Students will be analyzing different nonfiction books. We will be determining what makes a quality children’s nonfiction book. Some of the elements we will look at are: infographics, back matter, layout, interest level, and more.

Writing Students will continue writing persuasive speeches. We will be looking at different strategies to collect ideas. We will consider our audience to include our most persuasive reasons. As we get back into our writing routines, we will focus on editing as we go to ensure our readers understand.

Math We will continue our multiplication and area unit. Important concepts we will continue to explore this week are using square units to measure area, solving real-world problems dealing with area, and continue to reinforce our addition/subtraction/multiplication/division facts. Please continue to help your child practice these at home!

Social Studies We are launching our People of the Past Unit, which is a study of ancient civilizations. We will be taking a deeper look into how we learn about the past and how the past continues to influence us today. If any of you have any expertise in this area, we would love to have you share this with the kids!

January 15th-19th - Choose 2 activities to complete before Friday to share in class.

Math: Describe how you would be able to figure out which of the rectangles is larger.	Language arts: Write an opinion piece about your favorite book or character. Be sure to include examples, facts, and reasons to support your opinion.	Language arts: Write a creative story or poem.
Math: Practice your math facts (Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).	Social Studies Look around your house, find something from long ago. Take a picture and be ready to share with the class.	Other: What can you create using a recyclable water bottle? Make something or draw some of your ideas in your home learning journal.

Remember: Reading is just what we do. It is expected each night.