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. 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 24th.
Don’t forget: I have practice set up in SpellingCity to help students practice their MSTEP words throughout the week. Please utilize this resource at home.
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: Fossils & Dinosaurs: The Extinction of Dinosaurs due 1/23/20
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.
Congratulations!!
Hard work pays off. These students studied all week and earned a charm for their necklaces by scoring 80% on their MSTEP Vocabulary Quiz. Way to go! I hope to see more students receive a reward for their efforts next week. I hope all students are creating flash cards at home to use as a study tool. I also have practice activities set up in SpellingCity that students are able to use.
Also, certificates were awarded to third graders that either met or exceeded NWEA expectations based on their individual goal or grade level norm goal. Congrats! Keep up the hard work.
Mystery Science: What’s the best way to get rid of mosquitoes?
This week, students discovered the most dangerous animal in the world isn’t sharks or lions, but… mosquitoes! Mosquitoes are responsible for spreading diseases like malaria, West Nile, and Zika. In our activity, students applied knowledge about mosquito habitats and life cycles toward preventing mosquitoes in a fictional town.
You can support your child’s learning! Discuss whether mosquitoes are common where you live, and how you could prevent getting bitten by them. Do you wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants outside? Do you spray mosquito repellent or hang mosquito netting? What are other solutions to keeping mosquitoes away?
PTA Food Drive
