Book Fair
Our class will be previewing the Follett Book Fair at Arno on Tuesday, November 19th from 2:00-2:30. Our purchasing date is set for Friday, November 22nd from 10:30-11:00. Please remember to include tax when sending in money for your child’s purchases. All checks can be made out to Arno PTA. The Book Fair will also be conveniently open during both conference nights.
Mystery Science
The topic of this week’s science mystery was dinosaurs: how do we know what they looked like on the outside, when all we have of them are fossil bones? Why are we always depicting them as scaly lizards? Your child is learning how we can infer what the outside of an animal looks like, by using clues about their skeleton. We are also exploring how the structure of an animal’s teeth say something about what kind of food the animal preferred to eat (i.e. meat, plants, or both).
Dinosaurs are very exciting and so are likely to be a topic on your child’s mind these next few weeks. You can continue to stoke this interest by choosing to watch an educational program on dinosaurs together, such as Walking with Dinosaurs. If you have any toothed pets, such as a cat, dog, or even hamster, you can also invite your child to classify these living animals as herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore by observing their teeth.
Thank You, Kiwanis!
Arno third graders had special visitors on Friday. Kiwanis Club members came to Room 121 to present our third graders with dictionaries! Increasing our vocabulary is such an important component to comprehension, or understanding what we read. These dictionaries are a great tool to use while reading other texts. With the use of these dictionaries, students are able to look up the meaning of unfamiliar words and increase their vocabulary and understanding of the text at the same time!
Fur Trader Project
On Friday, the class discussed the French Fur Trader project and writing. Your student should have brought home the directions. Please do not feel you need to go out and buy supplies for this project. This assignment is due Friday, November 22nd.
Fur Trader Project Info. Packet
Dear Third Grade Families, 
Your child will be taking the MSTEP assessment this Spring. M-STEP is a 21st Century online test. It is designed to gauge how well students are mastering state standards. Also, the State of Michigan will be using this assessment to target students who will be retained in third grade. A passing score on the ELA MSTEP is a 1300. If your child scores a 1252 or lower, your child will automatically receive a retention letter from the State. In order to help prepare your child to do his/her best on this state assessment, we have some planned activities that take place both at home and at school.
In the classroom, we have already started using an online reading program called ReadWorks. Readworks is a program that requires reading, answering multiple choice questions, and written responses. Readworks passages and questions are similar to what will appear on the MSTEP.
Starting on Friday, November 15th, third graders will bring home 10 MSTEP vocabulary words to study at home and an extra credit crossword puzzle. If students complete and return the extra credit crossword puzzle, they will earn 1 extra credit point on the quiz. On Fridays, the students will be quizzed on these words. Starting in late January, after the students have had time to get use to studying for the words and taking the quiz, when your child earns a 80% or better on Friday’s quiz, he/she will earn a charm for his/her MSTEP charm necklace. Every Friday your child will bring home MSTEP vocabulary words and he/she will be quizzed on the following Friday.
Also, after the students take the Winter NWEA assessment (end of January), students who reach their personal growth goal will be rewarded during an assembly.
Starting on Thursday, February 27th, your child’s weekly homework will be MSTEP practice packets. If your child earns a 80% or better on their MSTEP practice weekly homework, they will earn a charm towards their MSTEP charm necklace. Homework packets will be sent home on Thursday and will be due back to school by the next Thursday.
Thank you for your continued support at home,
Mr. Zielinski
Mrs. Guyot
Mrs. Kalis
Mrs. Warneck
MSTEP Prep
On Monday, third graders will bring home 10 M-STEP vocabulary words to study at home and an extra credit crossword puzzle. If students complete and return the extra credit crossword puzzle, they will earn 1 extra credit point on the quiz. On Fridays, the students will be quizzed on these words. When your child earns 80% or better on Friday’s quiz, he/she will earn a charm for his/her M-STEP charm necklace. Students will be quizzed on Friday, November 22nd.
Weekly Reading
All gold Catch a Sunflake books may be returned to school at this time.
Every Friday, your child is assigned reading material for the week. This assignment will be in the form of an electronic article using ReadWorks. Login info is in your child’s planner. Your child is required to read and answer questions that are Common Core based. Similar questions will appear on the M-STEP. The electronic submission is due by the following Thursday. All short answer questions MUST be answered in complete sentences and contain proper punctuation in order to earn credit. (We will begin with multiple choice, but will be adding short answer in the weeks to come.) If your child doesn’t submit or return the reading homework by Thursday, he/she will miss out on valuable skill practice, and it will be noted as a missing assignment in Parent Connect. It is imperative that students complete the assigned articles and questions on time. After a certain date, the article will no longer be available in the student’s ReadWorks account for late submission.
ReadWorks Article: James West due 11/21
Encourage your child to use the following steps to complete the assignment:
- Read the article noting any unknown words.
- Explore vocabulary section or use a dictionary to define the words.
- Read through the questions.
- Listen to the text aloud using the audio option available stopping to note any possible answers to the questions.
- Answer the questions using evidence in the text and note it in the text where possible.
- Reread until all other questions are answered.
- Double check to make sure all answers are completed and reasonable.
English Language Arts
Every week your child will read an anchor text as well as a paired text. The anchor text is used to work on fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary skills and strategies. The paired text may be similar in theme and or genre. This text will reinforce vocabulary usage. Student understanding of the anchor text and vocabulary will be assessed on Fridays.
Students will also work on grammar and spelling throughout the week. Assigned spelling words will be assessed on Fridays.
