MRS. FREETH'S SchoolNotes UPDATE - 3rd Grade 2011-12

NCS employee email addresses have been changed!  My new address is:

allison.freeth@ncs.k12.de.us

Thurs., May 24th UPDATE
I am updating School notes now for next week.  My family will be travelling to Vermont this long weekend to spend time with family.  I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day.

Thank you all for the book club orders.  I will be submitting them before we leave for the weekend.

Thank you to the Hundley Family for donating water bottles for Field Day.  Also, the Coleman Family sent in popsicles which we will enjoy sometime before the end of the school year.

Also, yearbooks will be distributed June 5th - if you did not order one there are a few more available if you contact the office.  I give EVERY child our own class yearbook for autographs, etc... so no one feels excluded!

On Wed. May 30th our guidance counselor Mrs. Mease will be talking to the class out transitions...

***  PLEASE CONTINUE TO STUDY MULTPLICATION FACTS DAILY!  I PROMISE learning these facts now will make 4th grade MATH so much easier!!

At any time your child can visit www.starrmatica.com   User id: NCSstudent   Password: Patriot2001    and Mrs. Samuels' site at  www.mrssamuels.wikispaces.com   3rd graders can go to sqworl.com for some educational activities!  On the sqworl site there is a very helpful math fact game called Mathmagician.  ALL students have started using it in the classroom to help with fact fluency. 

PLEASE make sure you return any *'d papers in Monday folders every week. 

PLEASE check and sign your child's agenda EVERY day - including Fridays. 

Dates and Things to Remember:

FACT quizzes will continue to be given weekly.  PLEASE continue to study ALL multiplication facts for review!

Tues., May 29th - Reading LOGS due!

Fri., June 1st -Last Spelling Test, Multiplication QUIZ, AND VOCABULARY TEST

What We'll be Learning...

Cursive-

We are now finished all letters and will be doing practice pages.  We will do cursive several times a week.  Cursive homework will be sent home periodically.

Reading -

We will be finishing our non-Fiction Reading of the "Thirteen Colonies" in our History and Geography books.  We will also be taking an end of the year Reading Assessment and I am having student read for me to check their Reading Fluency using DIBELS.  The expectation for third grade at the END of the year is 120 words per minute. 

If time allows we will finish our Text Based Reading Responses.  Students are asked to respond in writing to questions about the text using details from the text. 

Writing/Language Arts

Students will be starting on an end of the year writing sample that will be sent down to the 4th grade teachers.  Students will plan, write a rough draft, edit/revise, and write a final copy.

Also, we will continue our Country Report Writing.  Students have narrowed down the focus of their Country reports by choosing Main Ideas to research like:  History/Geography, Native Animals, Jobs and Products, Foods, etc....

Vocabulary - Cumulative Review of vocabulary covered throughout the year.  This test will be given Fri. June 1st.

***Although Vocabulary is not routinely sent home to practice, you may help your child review these meanings by looking at the BACK of your child's Spelling notebook.  We work on several words a week. 

Spelling - Unit 33- idea, before, lived, became, add - just make sure Super Speller words are memorized!

Math-

We will be working on LONG DIVISION - several different strategies will be presented to the students. 

We are moving on with a weekly problem sheet called Sunshine Math.  Students will apply problem solving strategies on these in school challenge problems.

PLEASE help your child study ALL FACTS daily for fluency!!  USE the Mathemagician website and/or FLASHCARDS to help with fluency. 

Science-

ECOLOGY will start this week - I'm hoping to take a "mini" field trip to our school pond. 

Social Studies-

We will continue our unit The Thirteen Colonies.  We will move on to  Ch. 15 - Middle Colonies, Ch. 16 - New York - A Dutch Settlement, and Ch. 17 William Penn and the Quakers.  I will be giving "mini" quizzes after we finish each chapter instead of giving a cumulative test.

That's all for now!  Thank you for supporting me and your child this school year.  PLEASE contact me at any time if you have questions or concerns. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Allison W. Freeth