September 27th

We had a great day today!  I was so proud of their listening skills!  This morning we learned about the Native Americans with Cathy and we built a teepee with Dan.  It was a great team building experience.  You would of been proud of your kids!

Here we are after we built out teepee!

Working as a team building our teepee!

Learning about Native Americans!

Girls on one side....

This afternoon we met our buddies for the first time.  The students interviewed each other.

We began Unit 2 in Fundations.  The students will be reviewing suffixes, forming regular and irregular plural nouns, and they will learn 1-1-1 spelling rule.  This means that when the word has one syllable, one vowel, and one consonant, and you add a suffix in: you double the consonant. 

The students are getting ready for our realistic fiction unit.  This week we were immersed in all realistic books.

During math we started learning strategies to add and subtract mentally.  Each child will use a strategy that best fits their learning style.

Next week we will begin writing our personal narratives.  The students are already showing enthusiasm about their writing.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Thank You!

Thank you all for coming to Parent Seminar.  It was so nice to see some old faces and to meet some new ones.  Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns.  Thanks for signing up to help in the classroom, I appreciate it.
This week the students have been working on their listening skills.  We will sit boy/girl for a little while longer to alleviate some of the talking.  I am sure by the end of next week we will be able to choose where we sit.
We had our first math test on place value.  The students did very well.  I will send these tests home next week.  Next week we will begin learning to add and subtract mentally.
Our plants are continuing to grow, some are having  trouble - so hopefully by Monday they will being to sprout!

 In this picture we are working hard during writing.  The students are creating list in their writer's notebook. This is to give them some ideas when we begin writing stories.  They are writing things that they are good at and places they like to go!  Their ideas were great!

In this picture the students are taking there first math test!  Great job third graders!!

Hot Days

We have survived two very hot days in Room 213!  I am very proud of how hard the students have worked during this heat wave.
This week in Fundations we reviewed closed syllables and the students learned that the "tch" sound was a trigraph, three letters put together to make one sound.  The students were very excited this week to begin learning how to write in cursive.
In science we began our units on plants and we planted them this afternoon.  We will observe our plants grow over the next couple of weeks.
If you are planning on ordering books, please try and order by the end of the weekend.

First Week

 Busy little workers!

Some more busy little workers!

The third graders worked hard in the first three days back to school.

This week in Fundations we reviewed our short vowels sounds, blends, digraphs, and blending our sounds.  The students did a great job.

Our class is learning how to use the library and how to pick out a "just right" book.  A book is "just right" if you know most of the words and you can understand what you are reading.

In math we began Chapter 1 in which students will learn to count, read, and write numbers to
10,000.  You may read more about this in the math newsletter that will be sent home next week.

On Monday I will send home a book order that can be sent back to school by next Friday!

Homework will start on Monday.  The students will be sent home with a contract of their homework that is due that week.  Homework should not take more than 30 minutes a day which includes 15 minutes of reading.

If you have any question you may call me or email me at jburke@topsfieldps.org

Welcome Back

This is just one of the fabulous bulletin boards that welcomed back the children!  The third graders had a fabulous first day!  Our class is working on earning squares so they can earn a reward individually.  They are trying to earn thirty squares.  As a class they are trying to earn 30 squares so we can earn an extra recess!  I am proud of their work today!

First Day

I am looking forward to the first day of school tomorrow!  I will meet everyone outside in the morning and I can't wait to see everyone's smiling face!  Get ready for a great year in third grade!

OUR SPECIALIST SCHEDULE IS:

Monday: Gym

Tuesday: Music

Wednesday: Gym (It is okay if you don't have sneakers)

Thursday:  Art

Friday: Library