Hello Families!
I hope that everyone is having a fantastic start to their fall.
It has been a wonderful beginning of the school year and I have truly enjoyed getting to know each student and the unique strengths that they bring.
For the first month of school, we have been practicing our classroom routines, building a community of learners, and gradually moving into our 3rd grade content. I am always excited to hear about the concepts that students are transferring from second grade and building upon in third grade. It has been great to see their inquisitive sparks flying!
In reading, we have been building a community of readers! Some of our reading skills will be taught through social studies concepts, since learning disciplines are interconnected and more relevant for children this way. For example, we have enjoyed author studies of Jacqueline Woodson and Anthony Brown, while teaching the concepts of diversity and communities through their books. We have been building our reading stamina, choosing good fit books, setting and celebrating reading goals, and learning 3rd grade reading skills like story elements and literary genres.
I am just about wrapped up with all of the in-class reading assessments for students, and I will use this data to inform our instructional decision-making in the classroom. These assessments included an analysis of each students fluency, comprehension, accuracy, and appropriate text level. We can discuss these at our conferences in November.
In social studies, we are beginning to study government, diversity, and communities, infused with elements of geography and culture. These concepts are being taught through the lens of Central America and it’s relationship with the United States.
Students are also getting a head start on physical properties, chemical changes and physical changes in science. We are investigating during science labs with Ms. Nelson, and we will dive into this science unit following our 8 week social studies unit.
For homework, each student should read 20 minutes each night (Monday-Thursday). They should read one additional night over the weekend (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday). This is in addition to Ms. Rutherford’s assignments. Students should be writing this down in their agenda each day, placing the agenda in their red reading folder with their reading log, and having their reading log signed each night. Let me know if you have any questions about this!
It has been great meeting all of the wonderful families in third grade this year. I am looking forward to helping your child reach their hopes and dreams.
Sincerely,
Andy Grayson
Students performing a “close read” of the text Wilfredo, a boy from El Salvador. Students plotted the setting of the text on a digital map.
A look into our classroom.