3rd Grade Newsletter

Week of December 12, 2016

Dear Parents,

Wow! The first semester is almost done. Where did the time go?! Please remember that tomorrow, December 9, we are going to see the Nutcracker at TWU. We will leave at approximately 9 AM and should return before lunch.  Students are encouraged to wear their school t-shirt OR dress for the occasion.

A note about additional computer time:

We are beginning an after school computer time from 3:00 – 4:15 on Tuesday and Wednesday’s after the break. Please let your child’s teacher know if your child would like to take advantage of the opportunity to stay and complete his/her TTM, Istation, Study Island, or Reading Counts homework. If yes, please let your child’s teacher know what day and how he/she would get home.

A note on snacks: We have a peanut allergy in our room. Please, for the safety of the students in our room, do not send snacks that are eaten in the room that have nuts or nut allergens. Thank you for helping me keep all of our students safe.

Important dates and this week’s learning targets and homework are below. Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Tammie Seay

972.347.7144

This week’s learning targets:

Math: We will complete our geometry unit on 2- and 3-d shapes including quadrilaterals, parallelograms, prisms and pyramids. We will take our RC assessment on Wednesday.

Reading: This week we will be identifying the main idea in a paragraph, long text, or chapter. We will be able to give several supporting details to support the main idea. Remember the 15 Reading Counts points are due by Friday, 12/18.

Writing: We will write an expository paper this week as a pre-assessment for the new year. We will also engage in some fun holiday writing. 

Science: Encourage your student to get on StemScopes through the portal to practice and review rapid changes to the Earth’s surface and soil.

Social Studies: We will begin a unit on map skills including compass rose, cardinal and intermediate directions, and grids.

Think Through Math: At least two Think Through Math lessons are due each week by Thursday night. These can be completed at school, home, or a combination of the two. The computer lab is open from 7:20-7:45 each morning for students to utilize if they need to. Students who do not complete at least two lessons per week will be in the computer lab during clubs on Fridays to work toward completing that requirement.

Reading Counts: At least 15 Reading Counts points are expected to be earned during each six-week grading period. Students need to be checking out Reading Counts books each week in the library and reading them both at home and at school. They will then have the opportunity to take short, 10 question tests on their books and earn points. Tests may only be taken at school. Students who do not earn at least 15 points per six-week grading period will be in the computer lab during clubs on the last Friday of the grading period to work toward completing that requirement. That date this six weeks is 12/16.

Important Dates:

12/9: Field Trip to TWU to see the Nutcracker

Dress Up Days next week:

12/12: Wear Red and Green

12/13: Wear holiday shirt or accessories

12/14: Dress like a snowman

12/15: Tacky Sweater

8:30 Holiday Sing Along @ 8:30 (You are invited…also know it will be

standing room only)

12/16: Pajama Day

Winter Holiday Party (1:45 – 2:30)

12/16: End of third 6 weeks

12/17-1/2: Winter Break

Homework for the week of December 12, 2016:

Instructions: Students will draw a 3x3 grid in their homework journal and record evidence (see next page) as they complete tasks from the homework grid below. Students are expected to complete at least three boxes of the following grid each week. Of those three boxes, at least two Think Through Math lessons must be completed weekly. Each Friday, students will receive tickets for their work according to the information below:

Each individual box = 2 tickets

Or… complete one row or column = 10 tickets

Each additional row or column = 10 tickets (rows and columns may not overlap)

Up to 30 tickets can be earned each week! Tickets may be redeemed for classroom privileges and prizes.

1
Read 20 minutes. / 2
Complete one Think Through Math Lesson. / 3
Create a t-chart telling the similarities and differences between a quadrilateral and a parallelogram.
4
Complete one Think Through Math Lesson / 5
Complete one Think Through Math Lesson OR read 20 minutes. / 6
Read 20 minutes.
7
Write about the one thing you learned this semester in third grade. / 8
Read 20 minutes. / 9
Complete one Think Through Math Lesson.

Evidence grid to be recorded in students’ homework journals:

Students will draw the following grid in their homework journal for each week. They will number all boxes and write in only the boxes they complete for that week. For writing prompts and word problems, students will need to draw a downward facing arrow in the box, and then complete their work below the grid or on the next page of their journal. Work completed outside of the grid will need to be numbered.

Think Through Math is an online math tutoring program (see info letter on next page) that students will access from the main DISD website. They will click on “Students”, then “Single Sign-On Portal”. They will log on with their six-digit student id and their password (six digit birthday + first letter of first name.16 – for example, 121308m.16). They will then click on the Think Through Math link and begin working on the next lesson.

1
Title of book
Number of minutes read
Parent signature / 2
Title of Think Through Math lesson that was completed / 3
T-chart
4
Title of Think Through Math lesson that was completed / 5
Title of Think Through Math lesson that was completed
OR
Title of book
Number of minutes read
Parent signature / 6
Title of book
Number of minutes read
Parent signature
7
Letter / 8
Title of book
Number of minutes read
Parent signature / 9
Title of Think Through Math lesson that was completed