April 8-12

Dear Parents,

Students had lots of questions and were very eager to begin our new Balancing Forces Unit.  The tuning in activities helped to generate wonderings and build excitement. Students also learned a lot and enjoyed the activities related to our Inclusive Schools week.

This coming week will be another busy and exciting week of learning. There will be new reading and writing units beginning this week. And students will start work on new Passion Projects beginning Friday!

This week begins on: Day 3

Reading/ Writing This week students will begin a combined reading and writing unit where they will conduct research on a planet that they are interested in learning about. They will use a variety of texts and digital materials, synthesize the important information about their subtopics, and record it in their own words. Students will work together in research groups. You can find out more about this unit, including vocabulary and resources by clicking HERE.

Math We will begin to work on the concept of perimeter, including solving for unknown sides. We will also explore the relationship between perimeter and area (for example, if a rectangle has an area of 12 sq. cm, what are possible side lengths and then calculate the perimeter).

Science Students will conduct experiments, make observations and read about what constitutes evidence of a force acting on an object; discover that a force acts between two objects; and gain initial experience with setting a purpose for investigating and with constructing explanations.

Weeks of April 8th. Please complete 2 activities to share on Friday, April 12.

Math: Find the perimeter of three different books in your house. Sketch them in your notebook and label or use photos.	Language arts: Think of your favorite fairytale. Think about what would happen next. Write the sequel in your home learning journal... For example: The Gingerbread Man 2: Gingerbreads Revenge	Language arts: Research information about a  topic you are interested in. Write down important notes in your home learning journal. Also, make a word bank (glossary) of expert words.
Math: Practice your division and multiplication facts. --online --flashcards --game	Science: Make your own Observation table in your home learning journal. Be sure to include columns for: Object 1, Object 2, Observations, and Push/Pull .  Then conduct simple observations of forces around you and record your noticings.	Other: What are two things you will do this week to help the environment?

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

March 11-15

Week of March 11th - 15th

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your support in your child’s learning. The Student Led Conferences were a great success and we can all agree that our 3rd Graders did a wonderful job in sharing their learning growth and goals.

We have a wonderful week of book week events coming up including a book swap on Wednesday and a visiting author, Matt Smith, on Friday as well as being Character Dress Up. So dress up as your favourite book character!

This week starts on Day 5.

Please note that the home learning set last week is due this Friday.  

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March4-6

Week of March 3rd - 8th.

Dear Parents,

This week's update looks a bit different as on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we will be finishing up Student Led Conference (SLC) preparation. Student-led conferences are scheduled for Thursday, March 7 and Friday, March 8. Your child will be the most important part of this conference, so they are required to attend. As your child leads the discussion by reflecting on his/her learning, sharing his/her goals, and celebrating his/her successes, please be ready to ask follow up questions. These are the type of questions to ask your child as they are leading the conference:

• How did you make this?
• Why did you choose this?
• What does this work show about you?
• What did you learn from this?
• What was the easy or difficult part of this?
• What do you like best about this?
• What more do you want to improve in, or learn?
• Tell me about this.

There will be other conferences in the classroom going on at the same time. Please note that this conference could take up to 45 minutes (but it won't overlap with any sibling conference time). After this time you will go with your child to any specialist teacher you choose to finish off the conference.

We begin this week on DAY 8.

Please note that with the short week, home learning will be for two weeks and will be shared in class on Friday, March 15th.

Weeks of March 6 and March 13. Please complete 2 activities and bring in to share on Friday, March 17.

Math: Teach a member of your family how to find the area of an object.	Language arts: Think about a book club book or a book you have read independently. What was the climax?	Language arts: What are 3 things you learned about writing opinion pieces?
Math: Teach someone a strategy you use to solve tricky multiplication facts.	Social Studies: Choose a civilization and write about the location of that civilization and why it was important.	Other: Organize a section of your room. Could be your bookshelf, toys, stuffed animals, etc.

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

Feb. 18-22

Week Feb 18th - 22nd

We have a very exciting event this week!

All of Grade 3 will be singing at the ISKL Grand Opening on Thursday February 21st. Please make sure that your child comes to school in their school uniform. If your child has PE that, please send their PE kit in for them to change in to.

On Friday the Elementary School will have Chinese New Year Cultural Day. All students are welcome to dress for the occasion.

Also on Friday Grade 3 will have a session with author Richard Sobel.

This week will begin on Day 6

Reading Students are busy reading with their book clubs. Please help your child to remember to read and return the book to school each day. After looking at the "shape" of stories (we discussed a story mountain where main characters go up and down through the story) and readers are now attending to the role secondary characters play. We are also looking at how characters resolve trouble when they are tested in the climax of a story.

Writing Students are beginning to work on their first fairy tale adaptation. They are storytelling and acting out their story to improve their drafting. Please ask your child to tell you their story. The more times they tell their story the greater detail they will likely include in the written version. Students will work on balancing narration, action, and dialogue.

Math  This week we will continue our focus on multiplication and area. We will be 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!

Science We are continuing to look at social structure/government in ancient civilizations and will move on to belief systems and art and architecture.

February 18th-22nd  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?	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?	Language arts: Would you rather have more math time or more reading time. Write down 3 reasons why. Be sure to say more about each reason.
Math: Teach someone at home about a pattern you notice in addition or multiplication.	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.

Feb. 7-8

Week of Feb. 7-8

We only have two days of school this week, but we will be working hard throughout those two days. The students all enjoyed watching the rugby on Thursday. Hopefully they inspired the third graders to compete in IASAS events when they are in high-school. The most important event this week will be Friday afternoon Play Day. See below.

Have a great short week

This week begins on a day 7

Reminder: Play Day on Friday afternoon.

***This Friday afternoon, grade 3 will participate in Global School Play Day. Students can bring a toy or game (no electronic items) to school that they would be willing to share with others: a board game, blankets for building a fort, toys to share that don't have batteries, anything they want, etc. The purpose of the day is raising awareness about the necessity of unstructured play. Please click on the Global School Play Day website to learn more about it!***

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

-Plato

Reading Students will be continue analyzing different fiction books with our class book clubs. We will be focusing on characters and how they change throughout stories. We will continue reading “Because of Winn Dixie,” a wonderful tale of a girl and her dog.

Writing The focus this week will be on the students finishing their persuasive essays and celebrating their writing. Then the students will be convincing the school and their families to: get them a pet, bring shade to the playground, buy them a new phone, a class pet, etc…

Math We will continue our multiplication and area unit. This week’s focus will be on multiplication and area. We will begin 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 The grade three classes will be looking at how location impacted ancient civilizations. This week the students will be choosing a civilization to study independently.

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.	Language arts: Would you rather be an archeologist or a veterinarian? Give reasons and say more to explain.	Language arts: Write a story where the villain is actually a hero.
Math: Give an example of a home (do it yourself)  project where you would need to know area. Explain the project to someone at home and write some note in your home learning journal	Social Studies Write down three factors that are important to a successful civilization.	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.