3rd Grade MP3 Campus

School Data is open on the first of each month for parent reviews. These are due by the 5th. We hope the cut and paste grade level newsletter will be helpful to supplement your remote learning plan reviews. Thank you for submitting in a timely manner and if you need help, please reach out to your SLPC.

Topics: Class routine, getting to know each other, growth mindset, math as a visual, data interpretation

Activities: We are off to a great start in math. We spent our first few days of class getting to know each other a bit, brainstorming goals and expectations for a successful year as mathematicians and exploring the idea of growth mindset and how it can help us to be successful in mathematics. We completed the math portion of the iReady fall diagnostic test on campus during our second week together. We began to explore visual representations of mathematical ideas and started our first big focus area (graphing and interpreting information). Students looked at information presented in tables and bar graphs and focused on what information was obvious, what they needed to do some thinking or math with to understand, and we talked about how the scale of a graph can change how we interpret the data. We then made our own graphs as partner or trio teams and worked on how to display information about topics such as horn length, brain weight, tooth length, and tail length of a variety of animals. It was a challenge to decide on how to fit a large range of numbers such as 2 cm-420 cm, but groups were dedicated to finding a way to show it all and with accuracy.

Teacher Tip: Fact fluency plays a big role in mathematical success. You may want to note if there are any addition and subtraction fact families your student still needs to work on. Third grade will have an emphasis on multiplication fluency as well and students generally pick up x0, x1, x2, x5, and x10 first.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Kurashige, skurashige@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: class routines, getting to know each other, draft book rules, story topics, story writing, iReady assessment

Activities: We are off to a great start in Writers Workshop. We are getting to know each other and are learning our classroom routines through an art activity, games, and even a fun pop quiz! We jumped into our narrative writing unit, discussed where good story ideas come from, and we each created a list of possible story topics. Then students each wrote a short story which we will use to set writing goals for our narrative unit. We also took time to take the Reading portion of the iReady Assessment.

Teacher Tips:This is a fantastic time of year to check in on grade-level sight words. You can access sight word lists and other excellent resources at sightwords.com. Tracking trend data can be so motivating and useful (i.e., “9/25 - Can read 44 /100 and spell 40/100 First 100 Fry sight words.”)

Now that we have wrapped up the iReady Assessment, it is a great time to try the iReady Instructional Activities. These lessons are fun and interactive to keep your student engaged as they learn. We recommend students complete 2 lessons per week of personalized learning iReady lessons in math and reading. Your student can access the personalized instruction through their waffle just like they did to take the iReady assessment. Your student can access the personalized instruction through th waffle just like they did to take the iReady assessment.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Giesen, jgiesen@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Classroom routines, getting acquainted, Flat Stanley send off, U.S. regions, cardinal/intermediate directions, natural and political boundaries

Activities: Our first week started with playing get-to-know you games, reviewing classroom routines and brainstorming expectations of what a thriving class looks like and sounds like. Our focus was on the 3 B's (Be safe. Be respectful. Be responsible.) Students have listened to the story of Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and have prepared to send their own Flat Stanley to a different state. Several are on their way and we are excited to hear back from their travels. Sending a special thanks to you for your help with this project. Stay tuned to learn more about where our Flat Stanleys travel to this semester. Before diving into a deeper study, we worked as table teams to answer 20 questions about states and regions. Using the same 20 question cards, we corporately located the states and the regions they are in. We quickly discovered that we have a great amount to learn about the country we call home. It will be fun to answer these same 20 questions at the end of the semester and measure our growth! As a class we worked through task lists to create a regional map of the United States. Tasks included adding a title and compass rose and labeling/coloring regions. We then discussed the difference between a regional map and a physical map. The physical map was introduced following our discussion about the state of Iowa and its boundaries. We were able to see the natural borders formed by the Missouri River to the west and the Mississippi River to the east. After seeing a variety of pictures from Flat Stanley, we also compared the states of Washington and Iowa. The month concluded by highlighting key rivers and mountain ranges on a physical map of the US.

Teacher Tip: As you hear mention of landmarks and/or geographical features in our country, take time to point out their location on a map. The goal is for third graders to become more knowledgeable about the country they call home.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Elgersma, gelgersma@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Review classroom routines, Chromebook care, keyboarding, Google Slides, Google Sheets pre-assessment & review

Activities: We began our school year by re-establishing classroom routines, including daily keyboarding and expectations. Next, students worked to create a one-slide introduction, which included a detailed avatar and more design options than last year. We are ending this month with a Google Sheets pre-assessment and review before we begin a unit on new skills in Sheets.

Teacher Tip: All assignments and keyboarding links are available in Google Classroom. Students are welcome to continue to work on class projects or practice keyboarding skills when they are not at MP3.

Teacher Info: Mrs. Montgomery, rmontgomery@meridian.wednet.edu

Topics: Elements of Art: Line & Shape; Principles of Design: Pattern

Activities: Welcome to a new year of art! We began our semester talking about what we want our class to look, sound, and feel like. Each class created a class agreement and each student created a bird with their name as a signature for what our “flock” agreed to. Next, we learned how to draw Zentangles - various patterns with specific lines and shapes. Students filled a square with the patterns they liked and gave it a pop of color with a tissue paper shape. These have been combined with the other 3 classes to create a mural for our classroom. Our first individual project was inspired by the book, Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes by Eva Chen and Derek Desierto. In the story, Juno designs a pair of shoes that are as unique as she is. We looked at the Nike By You website and learned that it is possible to design your own shoe! We got right to work drawing shoes that were just right for each one of us! We saw everything from fuzzy boots to a sneaker with springs! Students shared their boots and what made them unique. These are on display in the lunchroom. We’re definitely starting the year on the right foot!

Reflection Questions: Ask your student to tell you about the shoe they designed!

Teacher Info: Mrs. Warnock, swarnock@meridian.wednet.edu