November 18-26, 2013

Lifeskill or Life-long Guideline of the week: Perseverance

Math rd 3 - This week in math we are continuing our unit on multiplication, and will be connecting the idea of multiplication to division late in the week. In third grade with division, students are expected to use models to solve division problems and use number sentences to record the solutions. *Relate division to everyday situtations, like passing out game pieces or cards in a game, or separating out snacks into containers. Count objects with your child by skip counting, and practice skip counting tougher patterns, like 3s and 4s. th 4 - Students continue to explore the idea of multiplication through arrays and the multiplication chart. Students will use arrays (a gridded rectangle) as a model for multiplication and to become more familiar with multiplication pairs. Students will also explore several ways to show multiplicative thinking using arrays, repeated addition and multiplication number sentences. Students will also learn about the magic zero!
*Ask your child to share the Magic Zero trick with you. You will be amazed at the numbers your child can now multiply only knowing simple multiplication facts. Your child needs to have the multiplication facts through 12x12 memorized. Please work with your child on memorizing these facts, as it is important he or she can recall the facts quickly.

Journey of the Heart We are continuing to study character development through reading picture books that take us through a journey. Each picture book is different in the tale it tells, but within each story is a journey; either physical or emotional, sometimes both. Students will also be looking at character traits, writing paragraphs and making claims using evidence from the text as to which traits he or she feels the main character exhibits. *Ask your child about which stories about journeys he or she has liked so far. Which story stood out to him or her, and why? Super Wonderful Words Review these words with your child this week. Ask him or her to explain the meaning of the words to you by showing you the movements, or explaining the lesson on each word. weathering [weth-er-eeng] the process where rock is dissolved, worn away or broken down into smaller and smaller pieces erosion [ih-roh-zhuhn] when weathered rock is picked up and moved to another place by forces of nature, such as ice, water, wind or gravity deposition [de-p!-! zi-sh!n] the laying down or eroded materials to another location Important Notes and Events! *Third graders will go to the performance of the Nutcracker at the th Long Center on December 10 . Save the Date: 11/22 Art Central/IMAX Field Trip 11/27-11/29 Thanksgiving Break 12/3 3/4 Reading Benchmark 12/5 3/4 Math Benchmark th rd 12/10 4 Science Benchmark & 3 to Nutcracker Ballet th 12/11 4 Writing Benchmark 12/13 Inner Space Cavern Field Trip 12/19 Winter Cookie Party/Authors Chair 1:00-2:30
*Please visit our wiki page for information about our class: http://mahlstadtsvrcek2-3class.wikispaces.com/ * Please check the calendar online every week as dates do change. http://mahlstadtsvrcek2-3class.wikispaces.com/Calendar

Caves This week we are studying how caves develop over thousands of years. We will also be learning about the characteristics of caves as well as the amazing structures they contain. We will also be learning about organisms as we continue to study cave dwellers, particularly bats. We will conclude our study of caves by visiting Inner Space Cavern in Georgetown on 12/13, so be on the lookout for a field trip note with more details at the start of December! *Ask your child to explain how caves are formed. Check out this animation to visualize cave formations:
http://www.classzone.com/books /earth_science/terc/content/visu alizatio ns/es1405/es1405page01.cfm

We Are Thankful We are thankful for so many things and people in our lives, and our next writing project will focus on just that. Through self reflection and sharing of thoughts and ideas, students will begin to brainstorm what they are thankful for. Through the writing process, students will be creating and publishing Thankful Books, which they will share with you at our Winter Celebration Authors Chair on December 19th, from 1:00-2:30. We will send home more information about this celebration in December.