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.
MSTEP Prep
On Friday, 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. In January, 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, January 10th.
Weekly Reading
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. 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: Flip It due 1/9/20
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.
Hot Chocolate Reading Challenge
In an effort to encourage daily reading over the break, I am challenging the students to read 300 minutes. Below is a mug (page 1) with 10 spaces for marshmallow activities (pages 2-3). Students are to complete 10 reading activities and glue them on their mug. Then, students must decorate their mug and return it by Tuesday, January 7th for a hot chocolate reward! Hard copies were distributed to students on Friday. Enjoy the break with some reading and relaxation!
Hot Chocolate Reading Challenge
Kudos!
Congrats to Natalia and Savannah. They both mastered all of their subtraction facts on XtraMath, and they are now working hard on multiplication facts. Great job, girls! Keep up the great work.
XtraMath will be available over the break. Please encourage your child to complete a full session each weekday. The expectation for the second trimester is for students to have mastered addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts.
December Super Cougar
Congratulations to Jonathan Sadler! He is Super Cougar for December. He is Responsible, Respectful, and Safe. He goes above and beyond our PBIS expectations. Way to go, Jon! Keep up the great work!
Our Week in Pictures
Best Wishes to ALL
Every school year at this time while students are creating lists of toys, I enjoy creating a mental list of student accomplishments and lessons learned. There is so much to be proud of, yet so much more to work on. We are all “works in progress” and use each day as a gift to learn and accomplish more.
The holiday sure did approach quickly. We have managed to tie a few loose ends before the break, and hopefully we will return with lots of focus to finish out the second trimester. I’d like to wish everyone a safe and joyful holiday. Don’t let the stress of the season get you down. Enjoy the time with friends and family, and I will see all of you next year…January 6, 2020!
Mrs. Kalis
*Please feel free to send me photos showing how you and your family celebrate the holiday. It could be a special family tradition or even just a tumble down a snow hill followed by sweet hot chocolate. I’d love to share these moments in my next blog post when we return.