Newsletter Week of March 19th

Dear Parents,

It was great to see so many of you at school on Friday supporting the Track and Field Fun Day. This Friday you will have another opportunity to join in as Grade 3 participates in the Terry Fox Run at 8:45-9:30. Your child should come ready in their PE clothing with their uniform in a bag to change into afterward.

We begin the week on Day 6 (due to a missed day earlier this year), but Tuesday will be Day 2 (followed by Days 3, 4, 5).

Reading

We are finishing up our fiction character book club unit. As we compare and contrast characters (their traits, motivations, and other characteristics), we will also look at how they face the problems they encounter. Hopefully, there will be some time for mini-debates where students can use text evidence to support their position.

Writing

Students are drafting another fairy tale adaptation and are making revisions early and often based on their goals so that their writing continues to improve. We are looking at creating stronger images, balancing narration with dialogue, and editing for sentence variety. After the break, we will continue with fantasy/fiction writing for a few weeks.

Math

This week we finish up our geometry unit solving perimeter problems with unknown sides and more. You will see the assessment for the unit come home after the break. Our next unit is all about fractions. It is important that students have a solid background with multiplication and division facts (to 10 x 10) and regular practice at home will be beneficial.

Social Studies

This week students will synthesize all that they have learned about ancient civilizations as they create a civilization of their own. Students will have a choice in how they share their learning. Our next science unit is about earth and space. It will include hands-on research as students design solutions to problems. 

After this busy week, we wish you a relaxing break and look forward to seeing the students back afterward on April 2 ( which will be a Day 6) for our fourth quarter. 

Week of March 19. Please complete 2 activities and bring in to share on Friday, March 23.

Math: What is the relationship between area and perimeter. Show your thinking with pictures, numbers, and words.	Language arts: Think about 2 main or secondary characters in the books you have read. Compare these 2 characters. How are they similar? How are they different?	Language arts: Interview a parent or other adult about how they use writing in their life. What kinds of writing to they do because of their work or by choice? What tips do they have for you as a writer?
Math: Make up a story problem involving perimeter or area and solve it.	Social Studies: What is technology? What are some examples of technology in ancient civilizations?	Other: What is one thing you will do this week to help the environment?

Remember: Reading is just what we do. It is expected each night. Do not forget your book club book.

Newsletter Week of February 5th

Good morning parents, 

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend. Grade 3 was lucky to have 2 parent experts come in and share their knowledge. We learned about the work an archeologist does and the process archeologists use when planning and excavating a dig as well as the legacy of hygiene that Ancient Rome left us to learn from and improve upon. What a week! 

Please note that ASAs start this week and the week will start on a day 6. 

Reading

We will begin our unit on character book clubs. Here students will get to know the characters in their book club book, making inferences and noting patterns in their behaviors based on actions, words, and thoughts. We will begin to apply character traits based on this. We will also begin to read aloud fairy tales in preparation for our next writing unit. Reading fairy tales at home and practice in applying character traits and talking about the characters in the books your child reads would be helpful.

Writing

This week in writing students will learn about petitions as another type of opinion writing. Students can say more by including interviews and surveys they have conducted. They will also learn that writers revise their introductions and conclusions, trying out several different styles before deciding which one will have the biggest impact on their audience.

Math

Students will continue to notice patterns in multiplication tables as well as continue their fact fluency. When learning new facts such as x6, students will develop strategies to become more efficient. Instead of skip counting by 6's students can multiply the number x5 then add x1. For 6x7, think 5x7 plus 1x7. Students will also begin to solve multistep division and multiplication word problems. Ask your child, how do they solve their x4, x6, x8, or x9 facts. Talk about what mental math strategies they could use.

Social Studies

This week, students will learn how geography and location effects ancient civilizations.

February 5th-9th  Choose 2 activities to complete before Friday to share in class.

Math:

• Play a math game that helps you practice multiplication and/or division. What game did you play?
• Teach someone at home about a pattern you notice in addition or multiplication. 

Language arts:

• Choose a character in a book you are reading (or read recently). What is the problem in the story and how would you solve the problem?
• Would you rather have more math time or more reading time? Write down 3 reasons why. Be sure to say more about each reason.

Social Studies

• Choose a problem that someone in an ancient civilization might have had and build something to help solve it (if you can not think of a problem you could use moving water). 

Other:

• Spend some time outside and sketch/write/daydream while you are there. Share something you liked about your time outside.

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

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 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.

Newsletter Week of December 12th

Week of December 12-December 15th

It was a busy week at Melawati this week! It was so much fun to see all of our students share their learning in our different culminating events this week. The music concert and the swimming carnival were both huge successes and all of the kids should be so proud. Thank you to all of the parents that came out to support our learners. Also, a huge thank you to all of our parent volunteers for another AMAZING Christmas Around the World! We all loved it.Take a look at all the pictures from the event in the shared folder. I have also added a few pictures from the swim carnival.

This week we will also be a busy one for 3AH! We will be starting off with our field trip to Klang Valley to test the water and observe the human impact on an ecosystem near our campus. Thank you in advance to the parent volunteers who will be joining us. 3AH will be on the field trip on Wednesday, December 13th, so please take a look at the form again to ensure your child has everything they need for the trip!

On Thursday, December 14th is the grade 3 learning celebration. This is a time for the kids to share their work they are proud of with you. It will begin at 8:15 and last about 45 minutes. We hope that you can attend. If you would like to bring a treat to share with the class, please do, however, do not feel that it is required. We have ordered fruit, coffee, and tea for the parents.

Save the date for these upcoming events:

Wednesday, December 13th Field Trip to Klang Valley

Thursday, December 14th- Learning Share 8:15-9:00

Friday, December 15th-Last day of Semester 1

Monday, January 8th - First day of Semester 2 (Day 5)

Worm Holiday Care If you are going to be around over the holiday break and would be willing to take care of our compost worms, please let me know. We promise they take very little care and don’t smell (that bad)!

This week begins on a day 1

Reading Students will continue their research on different ecosystem topics to ask and answer their own questions. Students will use their new learning to teach others about the topic.

Writing Students will be reflecting on their first semester and create blog posts to share. They will also be writing informational books about their ecosystem topics they have chosen.

Math Students will continue to work on multiplication problems and applying their prior knowledge and understanding of place value to help with multiplying groups of tens. Students are also developing an understanding of sharing and grouping as they represent division. Students will be practicing these skills in new math fluency games.

Science We will be taking our science skills to the field! Students will be making observations, testing the water, and sharing their findings from the Klang River with others.

This week instead of home learning, here are some ideas of things the kids can do over the December break.

I would like to thank you for a wonderful 1st semester, it has been such a pleasure working with all of your children. We have built a wonderful learning community and I will be excited to see everyone in January. Enjoy the holiday!

Newsletter Week of December 4th

Week of December 4-December 8th

We have been busy in grade 3. Students explored the different adaptations that plants have that help them survive. We discovered these through a plant dissection. We loved taking a look at all of the flower parts, especially the pollen under our digital microscopes!

Students have been working on science-related writing projects that allow kids to apply all of our informational reading and writing skills. You will see all of these at our parent share.

This week we will have lots of amazing activities happening.

Some of these include:

• Monday, December 4th: Christmas around the World and Red/Green dress up day
• 
  
• Friday, December 8th: Swim Carnival (for more information, see previous announcement)

Save the date for these upcoming events:

Tuesday/Wednesday, December 12/13th Field Trip to Klang Valley water treatment site. This field trip will be conditional depending on the water levels. Some classes will be going on the Tuesday and some on Wednesday. Your classroom teacher will be sending home a permission form that will have more information in the next week.

Thursday, December 14th will be our learning celebration. It will begin at 8:15 and last 45 minutes. All parents are invited.

Worm Holiday Care If you are going to be around over the holiday break and would be willing to take care of our compost worms, please let me know. We promise they take very little care and don’t smell (that bad)!

This week begins on a day 2.

Reading Students will be applying their informational reading skills to research different ecosystem topics to ask and answer their own questions. Students will use their new learning to teach others about the topic.

Writing Students are in the publishing stage of the writing process, they will be excited to share their final informational books with you!

Math Students will continue to work on multiplication problems and applying their prior knowledge and understanding of place value to help with multiplying groups of tens. Students are also developing an understanding of sharing and grouping as they represent division.

Science We will be finishing our Ecosystems unit with a focus on human impact. Students will explore different concerns related to the topic (water scarcity, loss of habitat, pollution, etc).

Dec. 4-8th 2017- Choose 2 activities to complete before Friday to share in class.

Math: Teach someone at home how to play circles and stars and PLAY!	Language arts: Ask your parents to read a story or a chapter to you. This can be done in your home language. What did you read? What did you like about having read aloud time?	Language arts: Write a creative story in your home learning journal. Have an animal be the main character.
Math: Practice your basic multiplication facts (1-10).	Science If you could choose, what animal adaptation(s)  would you like to have? Draw a diagram of what you would look like and how your adaptations would help you in life.	Other: Build a fort and play a game or read a book in your fort.

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

Newsletter Week of November 27th

Week of November 27th-December 1st

This Friday, December 1st is a holiday.

What a wonderful week we had with exciting science lessons and labs. Thank you to the ECO team that came into our classes and taught us about worms. Each class now has its own worm compost bin.

We also spent two days in the science lab doing our first experiment testing how animals survive in cold climates. Check out your child’s blog to see more!

Save the date for these upcoming events:

Tuesday/Wednesday, December 12/13th Field Trip to Klang Valley water treatment site. This field trip will be conditional depending on the water levels. Some classes will be going on the Tuesday and some on the Wednesday. Your classroom teacher will be sending home a permission form that will have more information in the next week.

Thursday, December 14th will be our learning celebration. It will begin at 8:15 and last 45 minutes. All parents are invited.

This week begins on a day 4.

Reading Students will continue to build on their knowledge of biographies. Students will think about biographies with a new lens. We will review how biography readers think “How is this person famous?” and narrative nonfiction readers ask “What is the timeline of events leading up to this accomplishment or disaster?”

Writing Students will understand that writers reread their pieces carefully looking for confusing or undeveloped parts to clear up for their readers. They need to role-play with a partner to make sure their writing is not confusing.

Math Students will continue to work on multiplication problems and being to apply their prior knowledge and understanding of place value to help with multiplying groups of tens.

Science This week we will have investigations about plants. We will go to the Science Lab to dissect plants to see the different parts of a plant and examine how those parts help them survive.

Nov. 27th-Dec. 1st, 2017- Choose 2 activities to complete before Thursday to share in class.

Math: Create a poster that explains multiplication. You should include pictures, numbers, and words. It might have example strategies like: equal groups, arrays, skip counting, repeated addition, turn-around, decomposing, (commutative property) etc.	Language arts: Read a biography. In your home learning journal, take notes on the person’s life: Who, Wanted, But, So, Then.	Language arts: Write a creative story of your choice in your home learning journal.
Math: Practice your basic multiplication facts (1-5).	Science Observe all the different things you and your family use WATER for in your house. In your home learning journal, rank them from most important use to least important usage of water.	Other: Build something out of recycled material that floats in water. (If possible, take a picture of it)

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