WEEK OF DECEMBER 3 – 7, 2012

"It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….!"  We are all excited about the Holiday Season upon us, but we also continue focused and working hard in third grade. This is what we will be working on this week:

v  Math: we begin our unit on DIVISION. For this unit, it is imperative for every third grader to have a good grasp on the multiplication facts. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRACTICE THEM AT HOME EVERY DAY! We will focus this week on division as sharing and repeated subtraction, writing division stories, relating multiplication and division and the strategy “Try, Check and Revise” for problem solving.  This is our final week on the trial IXL membership. We will be printing report cards for every student.

v  Theme: now that we have finished testing our minerals we will be organizing the information we have gathered and using mineral cards to discover the identity of each mineral. We will then test three new minerals, and talk about uses of rocks and minerals.

v  R/W Workshop: We will be applying our knowledge of writing a main idea and supporting details for this week’s task: writing a 2 paragraph composition on a specific topic. The third graders will also be doing independent reading. Please don’t fall behind in the reading of your home novel. These are due before the winter holiday break!

v  Spelling: lesson 15 is about double consonants. The quiz will be on Friday.

v  Handwriting: letters /v/ and /z/ in cursive.

1.       We have been asked to donate a 4-lb bag of MASECA for the support personnel baskets. If you wish to contribute to this noble DS tradition, bring it in as soon as you can.

2.       The NPH giving tree still has lots of opportunities for you to help the children at the orphanage.

3.       Songfest in on Tuesday, December 18 at 6:00 p.m. Third graders need to wear formal dress and shoes (girls) formal pants, shirt and tie (boys)

HOMEWORK

Monday	1.       Read your novel and work on the packet 2.       Math paper 3.       Write a “holiday” sentence using the Spelling words 4.       Practice your Xs facts
Tuesday	1.       Read your novel and work on packet 2.       Math paper 3.       Choose a CREATIVE way to practice your Spelling words 4.       Practice your Xs facts
Wednesday	1.       Read your novel and work 2.       Math paper 3.       Spelling sheet 4.       Practice your Xs facts
Thursday	1.       Read your novel and work on the packet 2.       Math paper 3.       Study the Spelling words for tomorrow’s quiz 4.       Practice your Xs facts
Friday	1.       Read your novel and work on the packet 2.       Practice your Xs facts 3.       Work on the Science fair packet (Bibliography page if you have not yet done so) due December 10