Last Week of February and First Week of March

Important Dates: 
Monday, February 27th - Box Tops for Education need to be in to get class credit

     Tuesday, February 28^th – Market Day pick-up – 6:15 PM
Thursday, March 1^st - Young Authors submissions due
Thursday, March 1^st – Turn in 2012-2013 registration information sheet

Volunteer Opportunity:
We are looking for parent scorers for Young Authors entries. Reading will be done during the school day on Mon-Wed, Mar. 5-7. Parents can sign up to read at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4DA4AB2EA13-reader


Reading/Writing
For the last few weeks, we have been doing a variety of ISAT prep activities. The students have been practicing both math and reading extended responses.  We will continue to do the same this week.  We will also be taking some practice multiple choice reading tests as we prepare for the ISATs next week.

Spelling
This week our spelling test will be on Thursday, March 1st because we do not have school on Friday.  The pattern for this week, list #20, is words with er and est.  


Grammar
Students have been working on prefixes and suffixes.  Prefixes are word parts added to the beginning of a word that changes its meaning and suffixes are added to the end of a word to change the meaning.  The Original word is called a base or root word. There are some fun websites listed on the blog to help practice using prefixes and suffixes---check them out!

Social Studies 
We have been learning about some famous people who helped to shape our country and shape the lives of Americans.   This week the students will be learning about the three levels of government; local, state and national, and the leaders at each level.  We will also discuss everyday people with everyday jobs who also shape our community.  These are people like firefighters, doctors, librarians, teachers and policemen. Attached on the bottom left column of the blog is a levels of government Powerpoint presentation.  The Powerpoint covers all the information students are expected to learn about levels of government.  Students will use the Powerpoint to study for the quiz which is Wednesday,  February 29th.   Students should know the three levels and the name and position of each leader ( Ex. - National government - President Obama).

Third Grade Math 
We will be finishing up unit 6 on geometry.  We are now moving from 2-dimensional shapes which are flat, to 3-D shapes which take up space.  Students will be learning the names of the various shapes as well as learn about faces, edges and vertices. A study guide will go home Thursday, Feb. 23rd, due on Monday, Feb. 27th.  The Unit 6 test will be Tuesday, February 28th.  

Accelerated Math 

We have just finished Unit 6 and are moving on to Unit 7.  Unit 7 mainly focuses on fractions.  We will also be working with some probability.

ISAT Week March 5th-9th

Yes, this is the week that the third graders take the ISAT tests for the very first time in their lives!  The students have worked hard and now it is time to show what they know.  Here is the testing schedule for the third graders this week.  Each test is 45-55 minutes long.  The first test of every day will be right after specials (about 11:30) and go until lunch (12:40).  The second test will begin right after lunch/recess (1:30) and go until about 2:45.

Tuesday:   
Reading Test #1 (6 short passages, 30 multiple choice questions)
Math Test #1 (40 multiple choice questions)

Wednesday:   
Reading Test #2 (2 longer passages, 20 multiple choice questions, 1 Extended Response)
Math Test #2 (30 multiple choice questions, 3 short responses)

Thursday:   
Reading Test #3 (2 short passages = 1 longer passage, 15 multiple choice questions, 1 Extended Response)
Math Test #3 (2 extended response questions)

Due to testing, our regular schedule will not be in place.  We will NOT be assigning any homework this week except for reading 20 minutes every night.  We would like the kids to do their personal best on all of the ISATs.  Please make sure your child gets a good night's rest every night, eats a healthy breakfast every morning and brings a nutritious snack and lunch everyday.  The third grade teachers are proud of the hard work the students have done thus far and feel confident that they will do well on these tests.  If you shall have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's teacher.