October 13th Update

Thank you for sending in cardboard! We have a giant pile now that will support us for a special science project next week. Also, thank you to those families that have sent in non- perishable food items for our We Scare Hunger Food Drive. The food drive continues all month and we appreciate all donations! The Scholastic Order went in today so if your family has ordered I anticipate that the
purchases should come soon! Here is a quick update of  our learning:

Science

We are continuing to learn about forces and simple machines. Below are some pictures that capture this learning through experimentation. Next week we will be applying our knowledge to complete a 'design challenge' (more to come on this!)

Grade Threes experimenting with buoyancy

Grade Twos exploring the screw as a simple machine

Math

This week we learned how to represent our data on a pictograph. This type of graph is a review for most students from previous years. We are learning to interpret data after we represent it on a graph. Below are some sentence starters for students to use when they are explaining what they have interpreted (learned) from the data. 

Today, some students worked on a word problem involving data on a pictograph. This is the word  problem for any students wishing to try at home!

Reading

This week we learned about making text- to -text connections. This is when a part in a story, a theme or Author's Message, or a character's feeling reminds the reader of another story. I have been encouraging students to make connections whenever they are reading...at home too!

Writing

In writing, we are learning how to write personal narratives or "small moment stories". Students are learning how to zoom in on a tiny seed idea that captures a meaningful time in their life. Today we discussed big "watermelon" ideas that are difficult to tell in small steps. "My trip to Egypt" is considered a big watermelon idea. "The time we rode camels in Egypt" is a perfect tiny seed idea that can be turned into a small moment story. Students will benefit from discussing small moment story ideas with their families at home as many of these special times have been experienced with family! 

Art's Package

The form and payment for the Art's Package is due. Some students in our class have not submitted this year- they know who they are. If you have questions or concerns about this please let me know as soon as possible!