Happy Holidays!

  

We had an eventful week with Armory and the book fair leading up to our holiday break. I want to thank everyone for all their support and the stupendous class gifts! There were some lovely notes from the children I will treasure!

Have an awesome Winter Recess filled with the best new memories of family and friends! We all see each other in 2020!
Happy Holidays to all!

Week 16: Holidays Ahead!

Our Nature Walk today was an eventful one as we were able to observe many changes in the environment as our seasons changed. We also found some slugs and worms! Our thanks goes to the moms of Ryan, Matan, John, Serafina, Rémi, Juliette and Matthew for chaperoning this trip!

Next week is the week before the holiday break. If your family is traveling during the week, please  let us know via note or email so that our attendance officer is aware. Safe and happy travels to you!

Here's what to expect for next week:

• Our ELA unit on information writing focused on foods around the world this week. Next week, we'll look at how clothing reflects our culture. Children have also been immersed on Nonfiction books in class and are having so much fun reading these informative texts. Here are some links to support that learning: 

https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/use-text-features
https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/use-key-details-to-determine-the-main-idea
https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/compare-and-contrast-in-informational-texts

• We are going to the Armory on Tuesday. Please have your child wear sneakers.
• There will be a Mid Module Assessment on Thursday. So far, we've worked on the six, seven, eight and nine facts. We've also reviewed the Distributive Property (break apart a factor) of multiplication to help us multiple bigger numbers. Here are some links for extra support if needed: 

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/division-facts-for-6-7-8-and-9-true-or-false
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiply-by-8
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiply-by-7
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiply-by-9
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiply-using-the-distributive-property

• On Friday, we will have a Pajama Day. Children are invited to wear their PJ's or coziest outfit as we celebrate the upcoming holidays. Children are also allowed to bring an additional afternoon snack. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 15: Family Friday

We had an excellent turn out today at Family Friday! We got to meet many members of our families and make book marks with the holidays in mind. This activity was a fun way for us to practice fine motor skills and get into the holiday spirit. We will also teach this to our Buddies in Ms. Ancona's class in two weeks, practicing our information writing skills as we explain how to make this craft.

Here's what's happening next week:

• On Friday, we will take our third nature walk to the Nethermead section of Prospect Park. Please dress your child warmly.
• We are continuing our studies on Culture. This past week,we focused on food and how the resources available locally affect the foods that become part of our culture. Next week, we will look at how clothing reflects our culture. 
• Through our Social Studies work, we are also developing important Reading and Writing skills. This week, our focus was on telling the main idea of a text. Children are learning to express their ideas in full descriptive sentences instead of just naming a topic. For example, the main idea of  a text could be "Dogs are amazing animals that help us in our lives" instead of "This book is about dogs". In writing, we've been using topic sentences to name the main idea of our paragraphs then using details to help explain the idea. 
• In math, we've looked at the six times table and played with different ways we can come up with the six facts instead of just memorizing it. Here are some links that can help your child with this: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpbc-1a7lMo&feature=youtu.be
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiply-by-6
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiply-by-7

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/comparison-word-problems-addition-or-multiplication

Have a fantastic weekend!

Week 14: Happy Holiday Season!

It's that time of the year when the kids are extra excited! They are looking forward to all sorts of fun Winter activities and we started today with some Thanksgiving turkeys. The kids wrote down things they were thankful for and many of them were super appreciative of their families. Some have also named their turkeys :)

We've also been having fun with some math dancing. Check out the link below for a song about rounding.
https://app.gonoodle.com/activities/round-it-up-round-it-down

Here's what to expect next week:

• We are beginning Module 3 in Math next week. This module will return us to the multiplication table as we start working with 0,1,6, 7, 8, and 9 facts. We will also work with facts that use multiples of ten. This will also help us review commutative and distributive properties as well as division facts. Here are some links to help review facts:

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/division-facts-for-2-3-4-5-and-10-true-or-false
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiplication-facts-for-2-3-4-5-and-10-find-the-missing-factor

• Here are links to support our ongoing work with information reading and writing:

https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/select-the-detail-that-does-not-support-the-topic-sentence
https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/correct-errors-with-signs

• We will also have a Family Friday this week. Please join us at 8:40 am for math games. 

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Week 13: Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Social Studies theme these next week will be Cultures. We have been reading information/ nonfiction texts to learn about the way groups of people around the world live. By studying parts of culture like homes, school, food, clothing, traditions, etc. we are learning about how we are similar and different to people around the world. We will also focus our writing work around our this theme as we write information texts that teach others what we know. Here are some writing links for students to practice paragraph making as we have done in class:

https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/select-the-detail-that-does-not-support-the-topic-sentence
https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/choose-topic-sentences-for-expository-paragraphs

One of our favorite activities, the Cultural Luncheon was a smashing success! There was a wonderful selection of dishes from around the world and many kids have got a new favorite dish. This event is always a lovely way to kick off the Holiday Season and it would not have been possible without your contributions. The highlight for many of us was spending time with our families and friends!

Here's what to expect for next week:

• We are going to the Armory on Tuesday! Please have your child wear sneakers.
• We are ending Module 2 in Math as we take the End Module Assessment on Tuesday. This module reviewed adding, subtracting and estimation by using metric measurements to help reinforce place value concepts. Here are some links if your child wants extra practice:

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/estimate-sums-and-differences-word-problems
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/two-step-word-problems-identify-reasonable-answers

• Schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.

Thank you for the fabulous luncheon! Have a relaxing weekend!

Week 12: Cultural Luncheon

It was great meeting with you to check in. Your feedback and support has helped me so much this year and I appreciate all that you have done to help us have a productive learning experience. The children have spoken about their goals for this next marking period during our Morning Meetings and we are looking forward to an even better semester.

Here'e what to expect for next week:

• There will be a new assignment added to your child's Homework sheet next week. Each week, your child will receive a Reading Response task on Mondays. The assignment is due the first day of the following week. This ELA task is intended to help children practice making and inference and backing up their thinking with text evidence. This is a major Core Curriculum standard in ELA as well as a good life skill. Please help your child plan a day in the week to address this assignment. Children have been practicing writing reading responses in their notebooks this past semester. 
• We are moving forward to our next Social Studies topic, Culture. This week our big event is the Cultural Luncheon on Friday. Please look for reminders on Monday regarding the event. One frequently asked question is "How much food should I bring?" In the past, most families have brought enough food for each child to have a tablespoon sized portion. Some children choose only some plates. There will be plenty of food for each child and adults to try, thanks to your generosity. 
• Your child will receive their graded Mid Module assessment on Monday. Please check your child's folder for it. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 11

It was a unseasonably chilly day but we had a good walk in the park. Our thanks to the chaperones: Noël's mom, John's mom, Serafina's mom, Matthew's mom, Alma's mom and Ryan's dad.

We have also rescheduled the walk that we missed last week due to poor weather. Please sign and return the new permission slip for the December 13th walk.

Here's what to look forward to next week:

• Schools will be closed on Monday for Veterans Day.
• Report Cards will be given out on Wednesday. Your child should have returned the green Parent Teacher Conference appointment slip and given you a note with your time on it. Your appointment time will also be written on the envelope of the report card. 
• There will be an early dismissal on Thursday at 11:30am for Parent Teacher Conferences. 

Have an excellent, warm weekend!

Week 10

Due to muddy conditions and high winds earlier this morning, our walk to Prospect Park was cancelled by Brooklyn Nature Days. We really appreciate your understanding and would like to especially thank the chaperones for their time. We will reschedule and let families know when the make up excursion will be.

Our thanks also goes to the parents who came to our Wednesday trip.


                
We've had fun with some math game this week!

Here's what to expect for next week:

• Schools will be closed to students for Election Day on Tuesday. 
• We will have a Mid Module assessment to check with the students' progress on measurement and place value. This will take place on Friday. Please check out these link for some practice if you want: 

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/rounding-nearest-ten-or-hundred-only

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/match-analog-and-digital-clocks

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/choose-the-appropriate-measuring-tool

Students have received a flyer detailing how to to order school pictures. Please check for that in your child's folder.  Appointment request forms for Parent Teacher Conferences are also going out today. Please sign those and return them as soon as possible.

Have an excellent weekend!

Week 9

               

There were all sorts of discoveries made in the park today! For many of us, this was our first encounter with the osage orange. The leopard slug was a more familiar face. We want to thank Theo's, Serafina's, John's, Esme's, and Matthew's mothers as well as Juliette's dad for coming with us and making sure we had a safe and happy adventure in the park.

Here is what is happening next week:

• We will head to the Staten Island to see the FrankenSTEM show on Wednesday. 
• We will also head out to the Nethermead again for our second park visit on Friday.
• Our math work next week will focus on metric measures for mass (grams) and liquid volume (liters).  Here are some links to help review the work on clocks this week as well as links to preview the upcoming topics: 

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/write-times
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/compare-and-convert-metric-units-of-weight
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/compare-and-convert-metric-units-of-volume

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 8: Two Excursions!

We had a fun start today! Many of you came to decorate Writers Notebooks with us and the results are beautiful. The children have proudly shared their new and improved books. There were some sweet stories told from the pictures and some children are already inspired to write! Our thanks goes to every parent who came and provided crucial assistance with this project!

Here's what is coming next week:

• We have completed our first math unit and will start Module 2: Place Value and Problem Solving with Units of Measure next week. This module will focus on using measurement to learn place value as well as sharpening our math story problems skills. Students will focus on metric measurement to help review base ten concepts as well as practice addition, subtraction and rounding. Here are some links to help preview the upcoming lessons: 

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/rounding-nearest-ten-or-hundred-only
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/match-analog-and-digital-clocks
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/choose-the-appropriate-measuring-tool

• The Module 1 test will be returned to your child mid week to bring home. Please keep an eye out for it. 
• We are headed to the Armory on Tuesday. Please make sure your child is wearing sneakers.
• We are also heading to the Nethermead at Prospect Park. Please remember to dress your child appropriately for the weather. Students should wear sneakers, sunscreen, bug spray and rain gear if it is rainy. 

Chaperones were selected for the Prospect Park excursions and a note was sent home to families who volunteered. Please note there is a typo on the notice. It says to meet at Officer White's desk on Wednesday. It should say to meet at Officer White's desk on Friday at 9:05 so we can walk over by 9:30 am. 

Thank you all for the wonderful week! Have a fun Boo Bash weekend!

Week 7: Happy Indigenous People Day

 It was an action packed Music class this week! Check out the video on our playlist on the right side of this post.

My thanks to all families who took the time to come to our first Family Friday. The children have talked about how much they enjoy spending time with you. If you were unable to attend, no worries! We have a few events in the the upcoming Fridays for which we will need adult volunteers if you are available:

• Friday, October 18: We are decorating our Writing Notebooks at 8:40am. So far we have three volunteers to help us glue and attach contact paper to our note books. We need at least three more. Your child received a note in a sandwich bag with more information and has been collecting items to cover the writing notebook with. 

• Friday, October 25: This is our excursion to the Nethermead portion of Prospect Park for our first session with Brooklyn Nature Day. We need at least five chaperones. Your child received a packet with more information and a permission slip.

• Friday, November 1: Our second Brooklyn Nature Day. Five chaperones would also be ideal for this session.

• Friday, November 8: Our third Brooklyn Nature Day. Five chaperones can accompany us. 

We want to thank you in advance for volunteering!

Here's what else to look forward to next week: 

• Schools are closed Monday due to Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.
• Please remind your child to have their items gathered for the Writers Notebook decorations by Tuesday. The items should be trimmed down and fit into a sandwich sized bag. 
• On Thursday, I will not be in the classroom due to a grade wide meeting. The children will have a substitute teacher.
• On Friday, we will have the End-Module 1 Assessment. Students will be assessed on their multiplication and division knowledge. If you have not already done so, please sign and return the slip attached to the Mid Module Assessment that was given to your child last week. Here are some links to help your child practice for the upcoming exam:

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/division-facts-for-2-3-4-5-and-10-true-or-false
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/relate-addition-and-multiplication-for-equal-groups

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/relate-multiplication-and-division-for-arrays

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/numberballoons/NumberBalloons_times_level1.htm

• We are also decorating the Writers Notebooks on Friday. We have been working on capitalizing names of people and places. Here's a link for optional additional practice: 

https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/capitalizing-the-names-of-places-and-geographic-features

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 6: Happy Yom Kippur!

We've been practicing our multiplication facts in many ways. Today, we played Circle and Stars Capture, which helped us to review using equal groups as a way to find a product. This game is very engaging and much fun was had!

This week, your child received a Mid Module Assessment. Your child has the assessment as well as a slip that should be signed and return to class so that I know you have seen it.  Many students did well and we have also been reviewing more division work based on the results of the test. I have also given out strategies to help students read the questions more carefully. If you have not already done so, please look through the assessment and send back the attached slip.

We have selected chaperones for our upcoming trip to see the FrankenSTEM show on October 30th. Your child will have a note from me informing you whether you were selected or not in the Blue Home/School Folder on Monday. Thank you all for offering and there will be other trips where we will need volunteers!

Here's what else is happening next week:

• Schools will be closed on Wednesday in observance of Yom Kippur.
• Picture Day will take place on Thursday. 
• Family Friday will take place on Friday, starting at 8:35am. 
• There will be a Math quiz on Friday on multiplication/ division facts with 2, 3 and 4 tables facts. Here are some links to provide additional support:

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiplication-tables-for-2-3-4-5-and-10
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiplication-facts-for-2-3-4-5-and-10-find-the-missing-factor
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/division-facts-for-2-3-4-5-and-10

http://www.smartygames.com/igre/math/halloweenMath.html

Have a fantastic weekend!

Week 5: Happy Rosh Hashanah!

September is in the books and the class is settling into routines. We now will begin more challenging work. Many of the children have shown good reading stamina and can read a text for 25 minutes. In class we have begun writing responses to the books we read. Third Graders are invited to do more than just retell stories. We have looked at characters and made inferences about them through our read aloud, Tooter Pepperday. We've also begun to look at themes (lessons or central messages) of some short texts like Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport and Those Shoes. This begins the most important work of our year as Third Graders create ideas from their reading and use text information to support their thoughts. 

Families can support this work at home when talking about stories, movies or events by saying "I think.... because (evidence from the book/ show)".  And even though they are "big kids" now, these kids LOVE being read to! Read aloud are a great way to expose your child to books that may be ahead of their independent reading level. 

Here's what to expect for the week of September 30- October 4: 

• We'll have a shortened week with schools closed on Monday and Tuesday for Rosh Hashanah. 
• Third Graders will have their first Friday Assembly. If your child has volunteered to present that day, please remind them to come prepared. 
• We are about two week away from the Module 1 Math test, which assesses children on the skills they have practiced in math so far. Many students have taken the initiative to practice their math facts on their own. It is very helpful when your child knows their 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 facts. Here are some links to support that: 

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiplication-tables-for-2-3-4-5-and-10
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/division-facts-for-2-3-4-5-and-10
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/multiply-by-4

Once again, I have to thank you all for your support in getting the children to settle into group routines and remembering to take the time to listen to teachers and other students.

Have a wonderful, restful, extended weekend!

Week 4: September 23rd-27th

PS 154 students made signs and rallied today in solidarity with the Climate Strike.

Here's what coming for next week:

• We are going to begin our Social Studies work by examining maps of the continents. We want children to see that they belong to a global community. Students will be asked  to name places where their ancestors have resided and will need to check in with their parents. 
• Our math work is progressing well. Here are some links to help support our children's learning about arrays and equal groups in multiplication/ division.

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/write-division-sentences-for-groups
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/write-multiplication-sentences-for-arrays

Have an excellent weekend!

Week 3: September 16th-20th

Today, we tried math games using our addition and subtraction skills! Students worked together as teams and had fun solving problems and checking each others calculations.

Here's what is happening next week:

• Students have been borrowing books from our class library. It is important for your child to bring the books to school in their book bags each day. They don't have to bring all of them back and forth but please remind your child to have at least one book traveling with them in the school bag.
• We will begin Reading level assessments next week. This is a quick reading task to see where your child is in terms of their reading skills, stamina and fluency. 
•  Curriculum Conferences will be held on Tuesday. Third Grade teachers will present a brief overview of the subjects we are studying this year at 5:00 pm in the MMR. Afterwards you are invited to visit the classroom. I hope to see you there!
• Please note that there was a change in our Cluster schedule. We will now have Gym on Mondays with Ms. Gamboi and Thursdays with Ms. Donato. Please make sure your child has sneakers on those days. Theater will take place on Fridays. 

Have a wonderful weekend!