Classroom Update: October 24, 2014

In English Language Arts, we finished reading Amber Brown Is Not A Crayon. We discussed what we believed to be the climax, or turning point, of the story. We also wrote summaries and compared Amber to the speaker of the poem “Since Hanna Moved Away.”

We attended an assembly today in which we listened to author Nicola Davies discuss her work. Ms. Davies has written several books for children, many of which are nonfiction texts about animals. One animal that she has written about is the blue whale. Students participated in a “chorus” to mimic the sounds that whales make (see video below).

Students are continuing to write their personal narrative stories, setting personal goals for their writing along the way. 

In Word Study this week, we learned about 1-1-1 words. As students learned in school, a 1-1-1 word contains…

• One closed syllable (A syllable with a short vowel, closed off by a consonant at the end, i.e. căt)
• One vowel
• One consonant that closes off the vowel

Examples of 1-1-1 words include "stop," "put," and "drag." Contrastingly, "fake" and "stomp" are not 1-1-1 words because they do not fit the criteria described above (fake has more than one vowel, and the vowel sound is long; stomp has more than one consonant). This concept will resurface in the coming weeks when we learn about the 1-1-1 doubling rule.

         1-1-1 Doubling Rule: When adding a vowel suffix 

         to a 1-1-1 word, double the consonant.

 hop + ing      hopping          tar + ed      tarred

In Math this week, we practiced solving subtraction word problems. We learned about two methods for subtracting: take-away and counting up. Counting up subtraction involves turning the subtraction problem into an addition problem. The graphic below illustrates the difference between these two types of subtraction.

In Social Studies, we began our friezes! Students sketched their seasonal Wampanoag scenes using the research they have collected. On Monday, we will paint the murals.

Upcoming Dates:

• October 30: Dictionary Presentation—Third Graders will attend a presentation on using dictionaries.
• October 31: School Spirit Tie Dye Day -- Please see the email from room parents for more information. Thank you Carole and Jen!

Reminder

Please update information in the PowerSchool Parent Portal if you have not done so already. Thanks!