We Survived...

...testing week #1! Our NY State Math Test will take place on May 2-4th.

Reader's Workshop
   We will complete our biographies on Monday. I asked many students to bring their biography home with them over the weekend. It is important for your child to bring their biography back to school tomorrow. We will also use an organizer to put our findings into an easier to use format. I am hoping to begin writing our first person narratives during the second half of this week.

Math
   This week we will learn how to calculate the area of a figure. Our work will begin with regular shapes. Once we have a solid handle on what area is and how to find it, we will move on to irregular shapes. This work can be complicated, and will take our students a few days of practice before we feel comfortable.

Social Studies
    We will continue our tour of various countries throughout the world. Our work will focus on the similarities and differences between their way of life and ours.

Writer's Workshop
    Our next unit in writing is a persuasive unit. I have found that third graders have exceptional persuasive skills. We will work on using our skills to defend our opinions while writing.

Science
   Monday your child will come home with instructions to access your child's glog. Your child will also be asked to comment on three of their peers' glogs. If computer access is an issue please don't hesitate to contact me. We can make arrangements for your child to do their work during the school day.

Thank you to Mrs. Matvienko for being our Mystery Reader last week!

Testing Week

      This Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the students will take the NY State ELA test. We will begin testing promptly at 9:30. The ELA is no longer timed, which means students may take as long as they need to complete the test. During this time students are not allowed to have food or drinks on their desk. We usually have snack around 10:15, but we will need to postpone snack on the testing days. Please make sure students eat a large, healthy breakfast before school on those days. If your child is sick or late to school during these days there is a make-up period next week.
    The rest of our week is business as usual!

Reader's Workshop
     The students are loving our biography project. They are reading a "Who Was..." book, and making notes on post-it about their people. It is fun when the students discover connections between historical figures, or personal connections to their people! This week we should finish reading our books, and begin looking at how to organize our notes to best fit our final project.
     The Wax Museum is being help on Friday, April 28th at 2:30. An invitation came home last Friday. Please feel free to invite the whole family!

Math
     We will continue to work on our geometry unit this week. Monday we will be classifying quadrilaterals! We will then move onto combining and separating shapes. Please continue to practice multiplication facts. This week we will do a multiplication quiz for x3 and x4 on Tuesday, and division on Friday. We will also begin working on calculating area of figures.

Science
     The glogs are close to completion! This week you will receive instructions to view and comment on your child's project. Your child will also have an assignment to view and comment on three fellow classmates' glogs. If you do not have access to a computer and the internet please let me know and I will make one available to you after school.

Word Work/Spelling
    Monday we will take a quiz on the last three weeks of vocabulary words. The students will not have a vocabulary story to write this week.
    A portion of the class started a new spelling assignment last Friday. Those students should be working on a writing assignment at home this week. This assignment is due on in school on Thursday.

Social Studies
     We will begin a country study this week. The students will read Time For Kids about various countries, and use the online version of the magazine.

Thank you to our Mystery Reader!