Hello February!

     Wow, we were busy last week and this week looks like it will be just as busy! We will continue to talk about mysteries in our guided reading book groups. As a whole class, we will be talking about the main idea of a text. We will be using a variety of short texts. Our key question is:  What is the author trying to teach me about this topic?
   
     We will continue to work on division in math. We are using our multiplication facts to help us find the answer to division problems. Last week we looked at fact families with 2, 3, 4, and 5. This week we will work on 6, 7, 8, and 9. We will also learn how to divide with 0 and 1, which can be challenging for third graders. This week we will continue to practice reading a clock and work on solving word problems that deal with elapsed time.
   
     Our study of the solar system will really kick into gear this week. We will learn about the sun and its layers. We will also begin one of our major research projects. The students will be using a variety of resources to research each planet.

     The students have each chosen a topic that they are an expert on for our informational writing unit. We will begin to outline our chapters this week and organize our thoughts to draft the first chapter. A big thank you to Mrs. Berry, our librarian, for taking small groups of students to do additional research on their topics!

     This week we will have a guest come in to speak about the Science Fair. I am encouraging all of my students to participate. This Friday is our Gently Used Book Sale!