Dear Third Grade Families,
What a whirlwind week! This week we collected 20 cases of water to send to Flint, Michigan. Mrs. Krissek delivered it to the Fire Department in Grayslake on Friday after lunch.
Water for Flint, MI
Water for Flint, MI
We also participated in an air quality study. Graduate students from University of Michigan dropped off the mysterious cases on Tuesday after and picked them up on Thursday. The cases created quite a stir in the classroom. Students speculated as to the purpose and guesses ranged from blood testing to water testing.
Air quality testing equipment.
Academics next week:
ELA: Coming this week in Readers’ Workshop we will continue to study biographies and autobiographies. In guided reading students are going to work on Informational texts, focusing on summarizing and text features. We will use National Geographic World magazines for students. For Spelling: Core Words: story, since, while, ever, paper, hard, near, sentence, better, best. Content Words: apprentice, master, taxes, Tory, Whig. In Writers’ Workshop students will work on expository writing, with the final goal of writing an essay that details how early settlers changed the land.
Math: We are wrapping up Unit 5 on multiplication and division with a unit test on Tuesday. Students will review on Monday and take home a study guide. Our next unit will be from the Eureka math curriculum. We will work on metric weights and measures. Each day students will work in a small packet and the homework will be at the end. Use the daily work pages to help your child with the homework.
Social Studies: Last week students worked on their colony reports and maps using informational texts.
Map work
This week students will continue the Homestead Project by creating a series of maps: a 100 acre map, and two one acre maps. Students will imagine their colonial homestead before and after settlement, noting the changes to the environment and natural resources. By the end of the week, students will “become” an apprentice in the 1760’s and plan to move to Boston to complete their apprenticeship. There they will experience the causes of the American Revolution through visiting the “Liberty Tree” and hearing the news of the taxes levied upon the colonists of Boston. Students will complete daily diary entries in their Patriot Journal.
Environmental Education:
Ms. Naomi visited us last week and led a lesson on William Bartram, a colonial naturalist who explored the southeastern colonies with his father. He recorded new plants and animals. His father was friends with Ben Franklin! “Billy” Bartram developed a drawing method using crosshatching techniques.
Bartram lesson.
Bartram lesson.
Upcoming News:
On February 19, our class will be going to the Waukegan Library for a Book Buddy event. (These are not our PCCS 8th graders.) Last year we partnered with an elementary school from Waukegen at the library for a morning of reading and crafts. Our students will be the “older” buddies. There is no cost for this field trip. We will send home a notice with more details later this week.
Dates to Remember:
2/1/16 Spanish test
2/2/16 Green Challenge Assembly
2/3/16 Early Release
2/5/16 TRIVIA NIGHT
2/11/16 PBIS Celebration at school AND Valentine’s Day Party
2/12/16 Teacher inservice-no students
2/15/16 No school-Presidents’ Day
Have a great week!
Cynthia McGovern