9/26/11 - 9/30/11

Important Reminders- Picture Day is Oct. 6^th. The envelopes will go home on 9/30.

After School Enrichment has started.

Thank you to the PTA and May Watts Families! The PTA is working hard to raise money to purchase technology at May Watts. Families can assist by sending in box tops, purchasing May Watts apparel, and purchasing Market Day products. Thanks for all that you do!

Citizenship- The students are learning ways to problem solve. So far, they have learned about the importance of stopping and cooling down. The next step is to learn how to talk about feelings. We will practice talking and listening to each other using I messages (Example: It makes me feel ___ when ____.) It's important for students to have positive ways to deal with problems when they arise.

Spelling- The test for list 4 is Friday, 9/30. The skill is long i and long o words.

Reading- The students will read the realistic fiction piece called The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron. This story is about friendship. Julian is a little boy who makes a new friend when someone new moves into his neighborhood. The new friends share ideas and teach each other things. There will not be a Harcourt comprehension test for this story, however, the students will be assessed on the skill of sequencing through a special kite activity. We will also create wishes for our kites.

Vocabulary: cartwheel, seriously, mustache, fastened, beyond, collection.

Writing- The students are doing a terrific job of getting in the habit of writing every day during our quick writes. We have modeled what Writer’s Workshop looks like and examined the daily routine. We have also identified the materials and procedures that can be used in writing. We have generated ideas through different lists such as authority lists and heart maps). We will continue to examine the writing process and when it is used in our free choice writing.

Grammar- The students will continue to learn about different types of sentences- commands and exclamations.

Science- This week, we are continuing with our Bones and Muscles Unit. The students will learn the names of the joints and their function. They will also learn the purpose of the Muscular System and learn about voluntary and involuntary muscles. The essential questions that students should be able to answer at the end of this unit are: What are cells? How are bones, muscles and joints formed? What is the purpose of the skeletal system? What are some scientific names for bones? What is a joint? What is the purpose of the muscular system? What are voluntary and involuntary muscles?

3^rd Grade Math- We will begin Unit 2- Adding and Subtracting of Whole Numbers this week. This unit covers multi-digit addition and subtraction and number stories. We will begin by working on Fact Families and Fact Extensions. We will continue by learning “What’s My Rule” Tables and multi-digit addition and subtraction and number stories using “part + part = Total” and “Start – Change + End” Diagrams.

The secure (S) and developing (D) learning Goals for Unit 2 are:

D-.Estimate answers to multi-digit addition and subtraction problems.

D- Compare “What’s My Rule?’ tables.

D- Add multi-digit numbers.

D- Subtract multi-digit numbers.

D/S- Use basic facts to solve fact extensions.

S- Know basic addition and subtraction facts.

S- Complete fact and number families.

S- Solve addition and subtraction multi-digit number stories

Additional goals assessed at the end of Unit 2 (from Unit 1) are:

D-Identify and use number patterns to solve problems.

D/S- Count by 10’s and 100’s

D/S- Apply place-value concepts in 4-digit numbers.

D/S- Tell and show times to the nearest minute.

D/S Find equivalent names for numbers.

Accelerated Math- We will begin Unit 2 this week which focuses on using numbers and organizing data. Some of the concepts we will cover will be: reading and writing whole numbers up to billions; using numerical expressions to give equivalent numbers; solving multi-digit addition and subtraction problems; making estimates for whole numbers, using a tally chart and creating a bar graph from a set of data; finding the maximum minumum, range, median and mode of a set of data, measuring length to the nearest 1/2 centimeter and describing and classifying plane figures. Our Unit 2 Test will be in a few weeks, but we will have quizzes throughout the unit to check for understanding.